


The Society Club

by tajinseasoningxo



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - High School, Gang Violence, Hanzo is out of character, Killing, M/M, McHanzo - Freeform, Partying, Rebellion, Slow Burn, So Bear With me, Underage Drinking, Underage Drug Use, but still lovable i swear, im trying to get in depth on everyone here, teenagers being teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2018-12-31 17:26:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12137472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tajinseasoningxo/pseuds/tajinseasoningxo
Summary: Jesse McCree gives up. He’s done. His life is in pieces and he can’t seem to catch a break with his abusive stepfather. But when his principal forces him to join the Society Club, his whole viewpoint changes. Especially because Hanzo is the leader.





	1. Miss Ling-Zhou's Office

**Author's Note:**

> How many people have you walked by and wondered if they’d change your life? Have you thought about how they have their own stories, and experiences? Listen, it’ll make sense later. But I promise you, everything happens for a reason.

_xx_

It was often that Jesse McCree found himself stuck at home from school.

For once, he was grateful. He didn’t even want to go in the first place.

Usually when he didn’t go, it was because he was “sick”, or had a “family emergency”. According to all of his principals, the McCrees were well-known for having a lot of those. Their son was also known for being clumsy, and falling down the stairs or getting hit with baseballs. Even today on the phone when Jesse called his principal and told him he was vomiting violently, he wrote it down on an absence slip and put it with the others. There were so many slips in his record. One for the week at least.

This didn’t go well with the school. Too many truancies and absences and no doctor’s notes to back them up.

So they sent an officer to his house.

_xx_

The young cowboy wannabe was lighting up in his closet when there was a knock on the door. He sighed and listened again to see if the situation was that urgent. There was a halt, so he lit the bowl in his bong again before there was another knock.

He sighed his smoke out and left his room to see who was there this early in the morning. If they were looking for his parents, they weren’t here. That’s what the story always was.

Jesse opened the door to see a police officer standing there, looking directly at him.

“Uh. Hey,” Jesse said, praying to any God out there that this officer wouldn’t smell the pot on him.

“Jesse McCree?” his thick, accented voice bellowed.

“Y-yeah.”

“Your school sent me to remind you that if you continue to be absent, there will be consequences.”

“Of course, officer…”

He leaned in a little towards the man to read his nametag. Immediately, the officer’s nose crinkled. _Pot, huh? I don’t have a warrant to search him, let somebody else handle it._

“...Shimada.”

“I will need to speak to a parent as well to let them know about this. Is anyone home?”

Jesse shook his head. _Please, for the love of God, just leave._

Officer Shimada was a tad bit taller than Jesse, with facial hair lightly and neatly dusting his jaw and upper lip. He was well-kept for a police officer. His brown eyes gazed into Jesse’s own, and there was a constant grimace on his face that he hoped Jesse wouldn’t take personally.

His uniform consisted of a light blue button-down shirt tucked in a pair of navy blue slacks. It was finished off by a standard pair of black dress shoes. A taser sat secured in its holster on his belt, with a gun on the other side, also secured. His nametag was black with his last name in bold, white lettering.

His large hands were in his pockets, waiting expectantly.

Jesse wondered what his first name was.

Meanwhile, Jesse was almost the complete opposite. He was wearing the large brown cowboy hat that everyone made fun of him for, but who was he to care? There was a black band t-shirt under a red flannel shirt, bootcut jeans, and just his socks for now. He wasn’t _that_ obsessed with his boots.

“Nobody’s home, sir,” Jesse responded. His body was screaming at him to close the door and hope he never came back. But if he did that, the officer will no doubt grow suspicious.

“Very well. I’ll be back later then. Have a good day, Jesse.” He tipped his hat politely. Jesse resisted a smile as he tipped his own back, before closing the door and watching him through the window. He didn’t realize how fast his heart was beating from the anxiety of having an officer come to his house in the middle of a smoke session.

He took a few breathers before going back in his closet and secluding himself from the outside world.

_xx_

Soon, he woke up in his bed, blankets sprawled, fan oscillating on a nice medium, and the window wide open with the curtains slightly blowing. Fall weather was in. He just started his junior year a few weeks ago, and already an officer was coming to talk about absences.

_Ron really needs to cut it._

He got out of bed and looked around. His room was a pale tan color with several decorative hanging lights, giant posters, and nic-nacs were scattered throughout the walls and shelves. A bookshelf in the corner held over two hundred books and a snow globe from Texas as a souvenir one year.

His bed was colorful, filled with many blankets and pillows. On the end table next to his bed was a lamp turned on, an ashtray, and a few cones.

There were various pictures printed of his childhood days, and random scenery that he took himself. He found a gem in his grandfather’s basement when he died: a polaroid camera. The thing didn’t work and Jesse was forced to take money out of Ron’s wallet to buy a new one, but he loved photography. Being able to capture that moment in time and keeping a picture of it was amazing to Jesse.

He smiled at his polaroid camera which sat right next to his stereo. He grabbed the remote and turned it on to some calming music before laying back. He let his mind wander as he lit up a cone.

Soon, he completely cleared out the fighting going on in the other room.

This was his life nearly every day. Go to school, come home, smoke, and sleep. Wake up, smoke, eat, sleep.

He wanted to go out and take pictures.

_xx_

The next day, it had occurred to Jesse that the officer hadn’t come back to ask for parents. Maybe he had forgotten. Or maybe, he was asleep or too fucked up to even notice.

It was the end of the day when he got called to the principal’s office. _Last chance to bail, but he’s probably waiting for me by the doors._

He trudged to the office, knowing full well what was going to happen.

His record was sprawled out on the big brown desk when he walked in, his mind fueled in a high haze to give him the strength to even put up with the principal.

“I think you need a little more involvement in with the school. Your record has indicated one too many absences, and we know that your family has been lying to us,” Principal Brown had pointed out. He was a good head taller than him, very burly but in the way where you wouldn’t want to fight him. There were pictures of him from the military hung up, and there was a huge American flag that covered nearly the entire back wall. He was very patriotic, much to Jesse’s enjoyment, but he couldn’t stand the man himself.

So when the cowboy heard that statement, internally he screamed in annoyance. His family was constantly targeted for this, and he wished he would just be left alone like everyone else in his classes. Too many times had he been called down to this same exact chair. And too many times meant quite the set of rumors coming out. Somebody had said that he was actually mentally challenged and couldn’t act right in class, even though when he did show up, all he did was have his head down.

He said nothing.

In his record, several attendance reports with red marks by them, a few failing report cards, and the school’s intelligence on him. On it, read:

_Not too many friends. Barely shows up to school. Mysterious family. Very clumsy._

His everyday life consisted of just being by himself. He had grown accustomed to seeing somebody he loved at least once a day before she retreated back to her room, never to be seen again until tomorrow. Or the next day. It was like an endless cycle that he was forced to be in.

“I’m signing you up for a school club. With the information on you that I’ve gathered, I think you fit in well with these people. You might learn a thing or two, Jesse.”

“I really don’t need this stupid club,” Jesse said before getting up and beginning to leave.

“Sit back down, or I’m sending that officer in here to personally arrest you.”

That stopped him dead in his tracks. He exaggerated a sigh and sat in the chair. He didn’t dare make eye contact with Brown.

“Personally? Since when can somebody personally arrest me?”

“I wouldn’t ask any more questions, and instead, shut up and listen.”

“Look, I appreciate the effort, but I would much rather be at home than listen to something about a ‘club’ I supposedly ‘need’.”

Brown sipped at his coffee. “Home? You mean where you always go and choose nowhere else? You’re seventeen and have no life.”

That earned a chuckle out of Jesse. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right, huh?”

“Very.”

“And you’re… how old, and think telling these other sixteen year olds with ‘no life’ to join some shitty ass club, is going to help fix things?” Jesse sat up, slightly irritated. He had a mouth on him, not afraid to talk back when he could. What was Brown gonna do anyways? He didn’t have the guts to send that officer in here.

“It’s either that or getting sent to _counseling_. Which do you prefer?”

“Neither.” The cowboy stood up and tried leaving.

“Jesse.”

“Call that fucking kindergarten cop! Like I give a shit! I’m out of here. Take your club and stick it, ain’t nothing wrong with the way I am.”

Brown didn’t try to stop him, simply watching him leave.

_xx_

Again, he found himself in his closet with tears threatening to spill and a lighter in his hand. He lit up the cone and inhaled, deeply refreshed once he realized that it wouldn’t be long before the drug would impact his body. The euphoric feeling washed over within minutes, and he had completely forgotten about what was wrong in the first place.

“This ain’t no gotdamn gateway drug,” McCree said to himself. “Fuck are they talkin’ about?”

His country accent came out in the midst of his high. Yes, he wasn’t from this town, like the officer had wondered. He was all the way from New Mexico, born and raised. Then the internet became popular and his mother found a boyfriend. At age 13, Jesse had moved away from everything he had loved and cherished. And even now at age 16, he still felt lonely. He tried making a few friends, but nobody seemed to understand: why was Jesse so fucked up?

His first year at the new Oregon school was in the seventh grade. People had bullied him relentlessly, and his mother sat back and did nothing. She couldn’t. Not in _that_ condition. His first impression with _Ron_ wasn’t really the best either. Jesse knew from the start that he was going to be an asshole.

And yet he changed nothing. He couldn’t. He wasn’t strong. Wasn’t brave. And most of all, he was always going to be called that terrible nickname. The one that rung throughout his ears when he’d have nightmares of the fires and the accident.

There was no strength left in him, so that’s when he resorted to put up with it.

Jesse McCree had given up on life a while ago.

But for now, none of that mattered. He was high. He was _happy_.

Pink Floyd played in his earbuds, with the iPhone 6 he had bought using his life savings. His mother was actually surprised he had that much stowed away, and praised him for once in a very long time.

The feeling of being high went through his chest like a warm hug.

If only his mother had permission to do that.

_xx_

“Yo, Salt Lick! Get the fuck up!”

His dream was shattered. It fell like glass in his mind and every hope and dream went with it. He woke up in a startle and was instantly grabbed by the collar of his shirt by none other than _him_. His dead, silver eyes bored into Jesse’s golden brown ones.

“W-wha?” Jesse asked, still half asleep.

“Answer me, dammit! Why did the fuckin’ 5-0 come to the house and tell me you’re skippin’?!”

“You kept me home, motherfucker!” Jesse shouted back, and pushed Ron off him before standing up. Clumsily, Ron fell to the ground and growled, literally _growled_ , at Jesse. “For once, just don’t _hit_ me, maybe? And these bruises wouldn’t prevent me from goin’!”

Ron spat back, “Fuck you, kid. I get another cop and I’m sending your ass to jail!”

“I’d love to see you try.”

The step-dad, the asshole, the nightmare, stood up and left. He slammed the door hard enough to wake the mother in the next room.

And the second it did slam, Jesse started shaking from the adrenaline that was rushing through his veins. His heart pumped, his eyes watered, his legs got wobbly and he sat down to regain composure. A sob came. He still didn’t feel brave. He still didn’t feel strong. It wasn’t right.

_xx_

A knock disturbed the history class that Jesse sat in. In came a little short girl with a slip of paper in her hand. The green slip. Nobody wanted to get the green slip. Everyone gasped, seeing it being passed to the teacher. A straight, uncaring face read it.

“Jesse McCree, to the principal’s office for detention.” He held it out to the cowboy, who stood up quietly and walked to the front of the room. He could hear the spurs on his boots dancing to the merry tune of his footsteps. It was embarrassingly cringeworthy, and he suddenly heard the snickers of his classmates. The teacher knew not to laugh. It wasn’t his place to bully a student.

The halls were bathed in sunlight from the large windows, and Jesse nervously walked through them, his mind screaming at him that he was probably going to get arrested. This was it. He was fucked.

“Jesse McCree.”

It was a girl’s voice, which prompted him to look in that direction. Girls never said his name, so this was a start.

Standing there was a brown-skinned teen with bright pink hair. It was braided all the way down to her hips. The gauges that fit snugly in her ears were decorated with a tie-dye pattern. It was pleasing to look at. Her well-groomed eyebrows each had a trill down the ends. This girl no doubt had her own style. _Unique_.

The crop top she wore had a palm leaf pattern, reminding Jesse of the California sands he had visited with his mother at a very young age.  

“You talkin’ to me?” Jesse dumbly asked, his high taking over.

“Of course I’m talking to you.” The Spanish accent caught him off guard, which allured him even more to her. Jesus, why had he never seen her in his life? She was perfect.

“Who are you again?”

“My name isn’t important, but if you must know, it’s _Sombra_.”

“You goin’ all secret agent on me now?” Jesse chuckled.

The girl, Sombra, scoffed and waved him off. “ _Nada_. But I wanted to say,” she said in a soft voice, swaggering past him with her lips dangerously close to his ear, “I’ve heard things about you, Jesse McCree.”

Goosebumps raced up his back to the hairs of his neck, and he nearly shuddered. “The hell are you talkin’ about?”

She folded her arms and backed up a bit, her sandals lightly tapping the floor with each step she made. She smiled at Jesse, who gave a look of confusion in return. “Give this some thought, _vaquero_. You’re not alone. There’s more of us like you. Our group is yours to call home.”

“W-wha…?”

“We’re the Society Club. Come see us after school, in room 204.”

_xx_

It was the second to last worst outcome, Jesse would have said if he even had a say in Brown’s office.

So here he was, in front of Room 204 or expulsion. The small, platinum tag read MISS LING-ZHOU, much to Jesse’s curiosity.. It was just starting to get dark outside, around 5 PM, and the sun had set to make the sky a cool purple, mixed with splashes of orange. He could see all of this from the window inside of the dimly lit room. The whole room was dependent on candlelight and… Christmas lights? What kind of Society Club was this?

Sombra answered the door, her clothes glowing from the black lights, now that Jesse noticed it. “Pretty swanky place you got here,” Jesse commented to lighten the mood. She smirked at him and silently gestured for him to come with her. He stepped forward and the cloud of incense was upon him. Cherry blossoms? Rose petals were lightly trailing further into the room, and to top it off, there was a neon smoothie sign. Was Jesse in aesthetic heaven?

Walking further with Sombra, who had suddenly grabbed his hand by surprise, Jesse witnessed just how hippie these people were: a huge plush rug, a few beanbag chairs, a radio propped up on a desk, and a big, comfy leather chair behind it. There were bookshelves covering the walls, like a personal study. But instead, it was home to these people. The room at the end of the hallway; the one and only.

In a beanbag sat a brown-skinned teen with a beanie on. He had an _Avenged Sevenfold_ t-shirt under a red plaid flannel, sleeves rolled to his elbows. His hair under the beanie stuck out in various places, a jet black. His skinny jeans and Converse finished the look on _edge_.

“This here is Gabriel,” Sombra whispered. He barely glanced up at the mention of his name, too occupied with his homework. “He’s the _Edge Lord_ of our group.”

Next to him was a girl. She wore a striped black and white turtleneck that hugged her curves, and her skin was a nice cream color. She sat with her legs crossed, phone in one hand and book in the other. The black leggings she wore stretched down her long limbs and ended right at her bare feet. Painted toes peeped out from under her thick thighs. She looked up from her phone at him for a brief moment, before becoming bored and turning back to her texts.

Sombra waved her off. “That’s Amelie, don’t let her intimidate you. Some people call her _Widowmaker_ because she loves breaking hearts and um, metaphorically _stopping_ them.”

A gloved middle finger flashed to Sombra from the girl herself.

In the corner at a table sat a burly dark-skinned boy. He was too preoccupied with his laptop, clicking away as he intently played his game. A concentrated look sat on his face, his jawline sharp and defined. His hoodie hung loosely on the chair he was sitting on, which initially was hiding a muscular figure in a tight v-neck. Jesse couldn’t see more of him, but he imagined the dude was really tall.

“Akande. His nickname is _Doom_.”

“What? Why?”

“Because it sounds cool? Duh.”

Staring out of the window was a boy with a leather jacket on. Sleek raven locks went straight down a bit past his shoulders.. He wore jeans and simple boots, nothing too eye-catching from what everyone else had been wearing. Jesse sensed independence from him. Plus it was really dramatic how he stared out of the window.

“And that’s Hanzo. The president of this little place. The _Lone Wolf_.”

“Does everyone here have a nickname?”

“Pretty much.”

As they walked further into the room, Sombra coughed and everyone looked at her from what they were doing.

“Everyone, this is Jesse McCree. He’ll be joining our little… _society_.”

“It’s nothing dangerous, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Gabriel spoke up. “We just get fuckin’ high all day and read or watch TV. Why do you always make it a big deal?”

“Damn it, Gabe! Do you need a blunt? _Pero_ , you’re being crabby,” Sombra snapped back, much to the boy’s amusement.

“Yeah, actually.” He went back to his homework.

Hanzo suddenly stepped towards Jesse and held a hand out quietly, pupils darting between his hand and Jesse’s eyes.

His heart nearly stopped when he saw who it was.

The officer from yesterday. Wait, no, this guy doesn’t have facial hair.

He stared at McCree expectantly, and the cowboy slowly took his hand.

This guy wasn’t the officer. No, this must have been his _son_.

He internally shrugged it off, knowing well that his son didn’t know much about him like the cop did. Then again, with the matching grimace from his father, did Hanzo even care what Jesse’s record looked like?

His hair was a replica of fucking _Itachi_ from the Naruto series. And his eyes were calm yet intimidating in their own way. They hypnotized Jesse, and he couldn’t help but smile a little while he shook his hand. Soft yet firm. He was truly perfect. Yes, he would be Jesse’s next few-month crush and nothing more. Like it always was. His low expectations on himself never failed.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope these goons do not show you much difficulty,” the Japanese boy stated. His deep, rich, accented voice was enough to nearly make the cowboy’s knees weak. An angel sent by God himself.

“I’m not taking that personally, am I?” Sombra wondered, before laughing.

“So, um, what do you guys do in this club?” Jesse asked, letting go and his hand growing cold from the missing heat source. Only then did he notice the window was open.

“Like Gabriel stated, but I myself have no desire for drugs,” Hanzo replied, stepping back.

“You smoke weed, McCree? You know, blow that _loud_?” Sombra questioned, hand on his shoulder.

“Uh. Yeah. I guess.”

“You guess?”

“I mean. Yeah. I do.”

“Cool, we have another participant.”

“Do you think now is the time to tell him?” Hanzo asked Sombra, eyebrows furrowed. The girl nodded and sat McCree down in the beanbag next to Amelie.

He sunk down into it and almost couldn’t get up. Hanzo stood in front of him, arms crossed. Sombra had her arms folded as well, checking out her nails.

“We’re not exactly the Society Club,” Hanzo said slowly, as if he was a father explaining to his child that his mother is pregnant again. It was kind of humorous, but Jesse held back a smile.

“To be honest, it’s just a coverup name,” Sombra explained. “We’re more of a uh, rebel group. Underground kinda thing. We all come from the same shitty background, some worse than others, but the staff at this shithole don’t exactly help with that. Giving us unnecessary counseling, ‘blaming the kids instead of parents’ sorta thing, ruining families. Ever notice how Brown is so quick to threaten expulsion or worse?”

Jesse nodded, knowing fully well.

“Yeah, and plus we love fucking shit up.”

Everyone else nodded in agreement, Gabriel letting out a clap.

“What do you mean ‘underground’? Are there more groups like this?” Jesse questioned.

“Yeah, a lot more. You’ll meet them tonight too, some of ‘em. We’re planning a big prank tonight, and it would be a great way for you to prove yourself to us, McCree.”

“How would I go about doing that?”

“Show us you want to be in this club. Show us that you’re willing to rebel like us.”

As if on cue, Sombra’s phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and answered it. Her phone had a neon pink case with a glittery cartoon skull. That girl was something, alright.

While she talked, Jesse gave Hanzo an uneasy look, who gave a reassuring, soft smile back. His heart started pacing faster, blood racing to his cheeks. He looked at the ground, his hands, anything to lose the eye contact that was doing things to his teenage mind. He could hear Hanzo blow a little air out of his nose as a small laugh. A smile crept on his cheeks.

Sombra hung up her phone and pocketed it again. “Alright, let’s meet up down the hall with a few of our other… _friends_.”

Everyone got up, and Jessie then noticed how tall Amelie was, even with the flip flops she just slipped on. She was nearly as tall as him. Looking up at him, she gave a simple nod before heading out with everyone else. That had to be some acceptance, right?

Akande trudged behind everyone, being the biggest and most muscular. Jesse heard of him a few times in class, and it was usually something about his size, not in a positive way. Jesse didn’t understand why, he seemed like a pretty cool person.

The club walked to the end of the hallway, where there was another small group waiting. A few normal kids, but two in particular stuck out. Another large, burly kid with a huge stomach gave a two fingered wave before returning to his conversation with a friend. He wore a big white t-shirt under a leather jacket and had ripped jeans just like Gabriel. His wrists were cuffed with spikes, and the boots he wore were dirty and muddy. His hair was a paper white, tied in a top ponytail. His face was chubby in all the right spots, and his nose pointed upright, just like a pig’s. He let out a hearty laugh at a joke he had just been told. Typical biker stereotype, but possibly really sweet? Jesse hoped so.

The kid he was talking to was much shorter and had wild blonde hair. It stuck out in every direction, the tips dyed a singed black. His hair was a dirty blonde that matched his large and furry eyebrows. This boy was _very_ skinny. He was hunched over like he was old, which gave Jesse the illusion that he was short. But suddenly. He stood up straight and was nearly as tall as the larger teen. He wore long skinny jeans with dirty work boots, and a _Nirvana_ t-shirt.

“Where are the others?” Gabriel asked, walking up and fist-bumping the two.

“They’re comin’ in a minute, give ‘em some time.”

“Mako, Jamie, this is Jesse. Jesse, Mako is the big one, and Jamie is the skinny little one. Or as I like to call him, _Cynthia_ ,” Sombra laughed, before Jamie rolled his eyes.

“Put a sock in it, yeah? Anyways, pleased to meet ya Jesse,” Jamison said as he stood upright again and held out a hand. Jesse shook it politely. “Let’s tell him the plan while we’re waiting, yeah?”

Mako cleared his throat and spoke, his deep voice nearly at a growl, “Right. So there are anger management classes just down the hall. Our job is to get them out of there for their own sake. So here’s what I was thinking…”

_xx_

The others had shown up eventually, four or five more, that Hanzo whispered weren’t as close like Jamie and Mako. His soft voice in Jesse’s ear sent goosebumps rippling through his skin.

Gabriel cleared his throat before walking down towards the anger management room. His friends watched eagerly from around the corner, heads popping out atop one another. “Whoever sees Mr. Thompson, send him to my office _immediately_ . He is _fired_!” It was a perfectly recited version of Brown’s voice in every way, shape and form. Gabriel included it was one of his hidden talents to do impressions of people.

“Wait, _what_ ?!” a voice shouted. Gabriel ran and hid with the others and watched as the confused teacher busted out of the room. He nearly slipped making a break for it down the hallway, where Hanzo simply stuck out a leg and tripped him. He hit the wall with a _thunk_ , and was out cold.

“Jesus, was that necessary?” Jesse commented.

“He’ll wake up in a bit. This is our window. And more importantly, _your_ window,” Mako said. Everyone ran into the room and saw the anger management kids, who all praised the clubs for doing their job.

“Alright everyone, an announcement if you will!” Sombra shouted, prompting everyone’s attention. There was chatter amongst all the students, who smiled excitedly. The girl stood up on the desk and gestured at Jesse to do the same. “So. Our new member here of our wonderful _Society_ is none other than Jesse McCree. This is his trial run, to see if he’s got what it takes to be with us. So, what say you, Mr. McCree?” She handed an invisible microphone to him. He smiled and played along. A few people laughed.

“I’m gonna do this.”

He reached down and picked up a snow globe that had a snowman inside, glitter dusting the floor around him. Jesse chucked it at a glass bottle with a very large modeled ship inside a glass bottle. They collided beautifully, and the class watched in awe as the glass shattered to bits and pieces. The ship was in ruin as well. At the same time, the snow globe shattered, water and glitter spilling onto the floor and counter. The room was dead silent.

_Come on… please?_

“Bro, Thompson worked for _months_ on that shit!”

And within seconds, the kids cheered and started completely _trashing_ the room. Books were thrown, desks tossed over, posters torn down and ripped. One kid even pissed on Mr. Thompson’s coat. Jesse watched as the chaos unfolded, a bright smile on his face.

“Holy shit, dude, you’re a natural!” Sombra shouted. _Society_ watched as the kids happily raged on.

“We’re not done yet,” Hanzo stated after a bit. He held up a hand to silence everyone, who all obeyed instantly.

His fingers gestured towards the exit, where all the kids got up and followed him. Nobody said anything, soft footsteps pattering throughout the room. The group rushed towards the bathrooms. Girls went in one, boys went in the other. Jesse noticed it was completely dark outside, and smiled peacefully. This night hadn’t turned out as bad as he thought.

When he walked in the boys’ bathroom, kids were busy stuffing toilets with paper and clogging the sinks. Constant sounds of toilets flushing and sinks rushing echoed through the rooms. Water was getting to ankle level when they all stepped out and shut the doors. A towel was shoved under them to keep all the water inside.

“Holy shit, this is actually sort of fun!” Jesse said to Hanzo, who grinned in return.

“You may be suited for this kind of thing after all, Jesse,” he responded sweetly.

His heart raced, butterflies attacking his stomach.

“No time to waste, let’s get outta here,” Sombra commanded, before everyone split up and went their own ways.

“Until next time,” Jamie called back to them as they ran away. Jesse waved back _happily_.

_xx_

_Society_ ran back to the room and were giggling as they realized how well their prank went out. Jesse was having the best time in a while, not realizing just how important these people would be in such a short period of time. He felt wanted. Accepted. And for once, he might have _friends_.

Everyone sat back down in their beanbags and chatted excitedly about the prank. Amelie was still quiet, along with Akande, but they still smiled and made the occasional comment, not wanting to ruin the moment. Gabriel was laughing as Sombra did most of the talking.

She was a very social person, always giving her input on things. Jesse liked that about her. Somebody who wasn’t afraid to speak their mind is who he aspired to be. Maybe he’d learn a thing or two from her, seeing as how he was still socially awkward from years of not having constant friendships.

He watched excitedly as his new group sat there and talked together, like one big happy family. Hanzo sat next to him, smiling. For once, he didn’t have that grimace on his face. In fact, from what Jesse could remember, he had been like that all night ever since he got there. He stared at how his lips were in a sweet smirk and his heart started pounding again.

“How stupid is Thompson, not knowing that Brown isn’t even at school this late at night?” Sombra laughed.

“We could _totally_ fuck with his office, if you guys are down,” Gabriel suggested.

“Let’s not push it too far,” Amelie commented.

“Agreed. Save it for another day,” Akande finished. Both of their accents were an interesting combo to Jesse. Everyone except Gabriel had an accent. Poor Gabriel.

“Good evening, Pacific Academy of the Arts. This is an automated announcement telling you that there are five minutes remaining of clubs, and we urge you to go to your designated pickup location. The time is 7:55 PM.”

“Ah, damn,” Jesse found himself saying. “When will I be seeing you guys around?”

“All over the school now that you remember our faces,” Gabriel answered. “But club meetings are every Friday until we get outta this bitch of a school.”

_xx_

The highlight of Jesse’s night had to be scoring Hanzo’s phone number and an invitation to their group chat. He couldn’t have been more excited to check his phone to see what his new group of friends were saying. He rode the bus home, excitedly watching their iMessages to pop up.

 _Sombra added Vaquero to_ bigfoot is real and he tried to eat my ass: the group chat 3

_Vaquero: what kind of name is this?_

_Sombra: nobody knows_

_Sombra: i think gabe got too high and wrote it_

_Edge Lord: yeah i think so tbh_.

_Doom: what’s the answer to the math from last night_

_Edge Lord: should have done the homework_

_Sombra: just half ass it and get back to playing League with me_

_Doom: I can hear you on the mic as you’re typing this_

The group chat was… interesting, to say the least. Jesse started a private conversation with Hanzo, but quickly realized that he didn’t know exactly what to say to him. Should he start off by asking personal questions? Interests? What do friends talk about?”

He canceled the message and sighed. Maybe sticking to the group chat was more important. He watched his friends talk amongst each other.

_Lone Wolf: if you still need the answers, Akande, I can provide._

_Doom: noted, appreciated, thanked_

_Lone Wolf: (attachment: 3 images)_

_Widow: you mind helping me out with science?_

_Lone Wolf: (attachment: 5 images)_

_Widow: holy shit_

_Widow: merciiiiiiii_

_Edge Lord: what about math?_

_Lone Wolf: (attachment: 2 images)_

_Edge Lord: THAT’S MY PAPER_

_Edge Lord: YOU THIEF_

_Lone Wolf: ;))))_

The rest of the bus ride was filled with Jesse laughing at the messages to himself, happy that he had finally found people to talk to. Maybe this club thing was just a blessing in disguise.

He knew going home would be bad. It was one of Ron’s drinking nights, which. Maybe this time wouldn’t be so bad. He had friends now. He could vent. But then again even that was impossible for him because he wasn’t accustomed to it. It had been too long.

When he stepped off the bus, Jesse’s eyes didn’t leave the screen. He even walked in the house, eyes glued to the phone and not even noticing _him_ on the couch watching TV. He didn’t realize he had been so distracted and smiled to himself. These people may just be a help after all.

Maybe, just maybe, things were starting to look up.

_xx_


	2. Index

_xx_

_Edge Lord: jesus fuck_

_Sombra: ?_

_Edge Lord: my dad_

_Doom: need a place to stay?_

_Edge Lord: I should be good, he’s taking it out on the neighbors again_

_Widow: pig._

_xx_

_Hanzo: (1 new message)_

“Hmm?” Jesse hummed as he ashed the joint. A wide smile came on his face when he saw his crush had messaged him first! He picked up his phone and read it.

_Hanzo: Those messages in the group chat now, please don’t be weirded out. We all have… pretty harsh backgrounds and help each other out. It’s the same for you as well, Jesse. You have us now._

Jesse read it over and over again. _You have us now_. It was a mood he had given up on for a long time. He texted back quickly.

_Jesse: I really appreciate it. My background isn’t the best either._

To put it simply, he was telling the honest truth.

_Hanzo: if you need anything, we’re here for you_

_Jesse: I really appreciate it._

He set the phone down and sighed dreamily. Only one person could make him do that these days, and that person was Hanzo.

It was weird having this person that was so heavenly for a friend. His heart jumped with joy if Jesse even heard as much as his _name_ , it was like a child chasing after an ice cream truck, or birds migrating to a different part of the planet just with one purpose in mind: somewhere warm and welcoming, and Jesse wished it was Hanzo’s arms he could jump into. Dreams of softly inhaling in his raven locks and kissing those soft hands were cooped up in his mind. He didn’t realize he had been staring off into space the entire daydream.

“Salt Lick!”

Hanzo slowly leaned down to Jesse’s height on the closet floor and got on his knees, inching closer towards Jesse. He bent forward ever so slightly and locked lips with Jesse’s, beautifully no less. They kissed hungrily, Jesse wanting nothing more than to bury his hands in that beautiful head full of hair. But the dream suddenly vanished, and his ceiling had replaced his fantasy.

Jesse’s eyes opened.

“ _Salt Lick!_ Get the fuck up!”

The sound of a door slamming woke him out of his near comatose state. He slurred, voice groggy and eyes heavy. Ron’s figure finally focused in, and he looked pissed. Jesse sat up straight.

“What do you want?” he growled to the man.

“Grocery day. Here’s the list. If you’re not back by nine tonight, it’ll be an ass whooping.”

“Would love to see you try,” Jesse commented, snatching the list from him and getting up. He was putting his boots on when Ron stepped on his shoe, much to the cowboy’s irritation.

“Another thing,” Ron commented, “your principal called me again. You’re supposed to go to this club every Friday. If you don’t, it’ll be _another_ ass whooping.”

“Yeah yeah, just drop it and get the fuck out please.”

“Excuse me?”

Jesse finished getting his boots on and stood up, just a few inches shorter than Ron.

“I said, drop it, and get the fuck out, _please_.”

“Listen, you horse riding _fuck_ -”

“ _Out_ , asshole.”

Surprisingly to both parties, Ron did as he was told after throwing the grocery list at Jesse. He slammed the door, leaving the cowboy alone. A breeze visited him through the window. Fall was near. That was for sure when he found himself slipping a jacket on before leaving.

The air was crisp. And Jesse could just barely see the leaves starting to turn a nice yellow color. The wind picked up, pushing around the ones that had already fallen. He took one last look at the grocery list before heading out. Thankfully, the load would only be a few bags.

The nearest store was just a five minute walk away. A security officer stood at the entrance, watching as customers came and went. There was a stern look on his face. He wasn’t officer Shimada, but their faces were awfully similar regarding moods. He gave Jesse a once-over before losing interest. He was no threat.

He tipped his hat politely at the officer before going inside and taking a cart with him. The store was even colder than outside, which resulted with Jesse letting out a shiver as he navigated through the aisles to pick out the things on the list.

Simple things came first: cereal, milk, eggs, and soup. That would keep the house going for another week. He also had to get laundry detergent and shampoo. Oh, and bleach. For cleaning purposes. His pickings were quick, knowing exactly what everyone preferred. Ron had only recently allowed Jesse’s mother, Joy, to eat salad. She usually just had microwave meals or yogurt, why had he suddenly let her eat that?

Caesar dressing was the last thing Jesse tossed in the cart, and even snuck in a lighter on the receipt. His old one had died, and he didn’t have any cash on him. Plus, what difference did a dollar make? He’d take advantage of Ron in any way he could. He hated the man.

As he trudged out of the store with two bags in one hand, he noticed someone walking down the block. He remembered that beanie, the red flannel, and those edgy Converse. It was Gabriel!

Jesse lightly jogged after him. “Gabriel!” he called, excitement rushing through his veins. The emo kid turned his head and flashed a peace sign before turning back, a mellow look on his face. His eyes were barely visible through his oily bangs. Overall, now that Jesse got a look at it, he looked like _shit_.

“What’s up, Vaquero,” he numbly said as Jesse matched paces with him.

“You look like you had a rough night. Something happen?”

_xx_

_Edge Lord started a conversation with Doom_

_Edge Lord: so my dad got the cops called on him by the neighbors again, he had a really bad outburst. His PO said that he has only one more strike after this, then he’s gonna get sent back to jail._

_Doom: I’m sorry, Gabriel._

_Doom: Is there anything I can do?_

_Edge Lord: no, he went to sleep drunk and got a 300$$ ticket. they’re done with his shit._

_Doom: My door is open. Now get some sleep. It’s 2:30_

_Edge Lord: why are you up  then?_

_Doom: Because I can’t sleep anymore._

_xx_

“Nah. I’m just tired.”

“Come on, Gabriel” Jesse pointed out, “you’ve been wearing those clothes since yesterday. I can help.”

Gabriel shook his head and smirked slightly. The two continued walking, no words being exchanged. It was nice walking with somebody for a change. Jesse had been walking alone for _years_ , so this was a big first in a while.

“You couldn’t possibly understand what’s happening under my roof,” Gabriel grumbled, lighting up a cigarette and puffing on it.

“It all depends,” Jesse pointed out, “do you have an ingrate for a stepdad?”

“I’ll do you one better,” Gabriel responded, “a _dad_.”

“Then I think there’s some mutual ground here.”

“Barely.”

Jesse shrugged and continued walking. Gabriel was silent, mixed feelings clouding his mind. He just met Jesse yesterday, and already the cowboy was trying to relate to him, trying to get on his good side. How many people had tried to do that in his lifetime? Personally, he thought Jesse was trying to be a kiss-ass.

From what Sombra told him, Jesse was alone. Has been since he moved here. He wasn’t sure how she found out, maybe through the school’s network, but he wasn’t convinced with Jesse. To put it simply, he didn’t trust him.

They reached a crosswalk, where Jesse had to split ways with Gabriel.

“I’ll be seeing you next Friday,” he said politely, before nodding and leaving. Gabriel watched as he walked away before taking another drag off his cigarette and crossing the street. He decided to say nothing, as a way of letting Jesse know he wasn’t comfortable yet.

Internally, Jesse was scolding himself for the way he acted, knowing he came on too strong. Embarrassment filled his chest, which made him rush home to go straight to his closet and hide from the world.

_Why would Gabe even wanna be friends anyways? You’re lame, Jesse._

He softly opened the door to his house and peeked his head outside. _He_ was gone, and the couch had an empty sunken down spot in exchange for the nightmare man himself. The room was dimly lit from a ceiling light. There were empty soda cans, a cracked ashtray that was past its due date for washing out, and a stained blanket from many spills and vomiting. His living room was cramped, to say the least. The floor was a polished wood that had several crumbs and other dust particles that needed sweeping. The couch was a light sectional that had sticky cup holders from sodas and candies alike. Ron’s spot was always at the end, by the armrest. A TV tray sat next to it with leftover plates and takeout boxes. A half-filled soda from Taco Bell was dangerously close to the edge, but he decided to let _him_ deal with it.

The TV was propped up on the wall by a shitty mount, the cord unattractively trailing down the wall to an outlet that was so stuffed, it was a miracle that there wasn’t a power surge. The cooking channel was turned on, _Carnival Eats_ playing at a low volume. No doubt _he_ had gone somewhere for tonight.

Jesse walked into the kitchen, where the ceiling fan was blowing at full speed. A leftover pot of sloppy Joes sat there for the second day in a row. The stove was greasy, several brown stains along the front and the range. He opened the cabinets out of curiosity. A box of instant mashed potatoes, off-brand mac and cheese, and cup ramen for days. He began emptying out the bags, some delicacies put back in their place, like _Cinnamon Toast Crunch_. At least Jesse was allowed that much.

As he opened the fridge to put the milk back, Jesse noticed the fridge was cleared too. It wasn’t necessarily clean, but sure as hell empty. A few beers sat towards the back in a corner. In front, the leftover jug of now expired milk. Condiments and sauces lined the door, but those were no good if they couldn’t be put on anything.

Once he finished putting away everything, Jesse shoved the bags under the sink for their next use. He grabbed a bottle of water before heading back to his room.

He passed his mother’s room, where the door was open. Out of curiosity, he opened the door to see what she was up to. She wasn’t there. His heart skipped a beat, but then he realized she could very well be in the bathroom.

“Ma?” he called, walking into the kitchen. The bathroom door there was open. He poked his head inside. Nobody there. The sink was dirty with toothpaste particles and hair. No sign of his mother anywhere.

For once, he hoped Ron had any human decency left in him and took his mother with him to wherever he was going. She was frail. Weak. She couldn’t take care of herself alone. It was extremely rare, maybe near _annual_ , that his mother would leave the house.

Jesse closed his door behind him, assuring himself that everything would be fine. He kicked his boots off and exchanged his jeans for pajama pants. He sat down in his closet and monitored the group chat, breaking down a cigarillo.

_Lone Wolf: my dad is signing me up for counseling again._

_Widow: why? I thought you had enough._

_Lone Wolf: according to him, I still am showing signs of being a psychopath._

_Widow: Barely. You’re actually making progress._

_Doom: Consider making a compromise? What about medications? Just flush a pill down the toilet every morning. He shouldn’t know._

_Lone Wolf: i would, and I actually did, but he knew something was off when my attitude hadn’t changed. He’d definitely know._

_Edge Lord: that shit was years ago. Plus, you changed._

_Lone Wolf: like I said, according to him, i’m still the same Hanzo as yesterday. And the days before that._

_Edge Lord: fucked up world we live in_

_Widow: agreed._

_xx_

It was around three in the morning when Ron finally decided to show his face. His loud entrance was what woke Jesse up. Oh yeah. He was drunk.

Stirring, the cowboy got up to make sure his mother was with him. He silently opened his door and witnessed the man stumbling to the couch. He sighed in relief when his mother’s small frame walked towards her room. He must have taken her to a bar for whatever reason. Personally, she wasn’t a big drinker, so this confused Jesse. What reasoning would he have to bring her to a place she didn’t bother with? She never left the house.

There was no way Jesse was getting an answer from Ron tonight. The loud snore coming from him was enough to prove he was out cold. The door to Joy’s room was softly closed, and Jesse sighed before doing the same. Just another night in the McCree residence.

Ironically, Jesse was the only McCree. His mother changed her last name a long time ago to her maiden name, requested and forced by Ron. He didn’t want anything to do with Jesse’s real father. Yet they hadn’t even talked once. His insecurity would be doing the talking if they ever did confront each other.

His worry for Joy kept him up, so he checked the group chat again out of boredom. He never said anything himself, just simply monitored what his friends were up to.

_Last message: 4 hours ago_

_Sombra: another paycheck closer to moving the fuck out_

_Lone Wolf: you just have another $200 to go?_

_Sombra: correct_

_Lone Wolf: take me with you_

_Sombra: if only_

_Widow: my parents are taking me to look at apartments for once next week. My savings account is looking a lot like yours rn_

_Sombra: roomies?_

_Widow: should have told me that before i hit craigslist_

_Sombra: you’re gonna be roomed with a murderer_

_Lone Wolf: oh shit that was you? The two bedroom apartment with a nice balcony?_

_Widow: funny._

Jesse was curious about what Hanzo’s situation was. Sombra had mentioned they all came from the same background, so what was Hanzo’s deal? His father seemed to be skeptical of his son’s behavior, but that was all he knew. Suddenly, Jesse remembered Hanzo telling him that if there was ever a problem, he could come and talk. But it was 3 in the morning.

He checked the list of people online. Hanzo wasn’t, but Gabriel was.

So, he was a night owl?

Of course, he wasn’t going to message him at this time. It would be creepy, and he was still embarrassed of earlier today with the whole relation encounter. Maybe Gabriel’s dad was worse, he didn’t know. But what he did know was that they weren’t on good terms with neither of their father figures.

Jesse sighed and looked out of the window. It was beginning to sprinkle a bit, a nice pre-autumn rain. The smell of it invaded his room, which was a good change from inhaling the stuffy, mugginess with a hint of weed. He was good with masking the scent, having some incense nearby, but it still was an old smell that he could use a change from. Maybe when he moved out, in the future.

Ron wouldn’t allow him to work so he could even start to save up for moving out. He had to stay home and “help around the house”. The cowboy, of course, didn’t listen to this, and simply refused to do chores. It wasn’t because he was lazy. It was entirely a “fuck you” to him. And plus, Jesse contributed a bowl and a spoon _tops_ to the dish pile every day. Meanwhile, the pots, pans, and plates were all _his_ responsibility.

Even less, his mother only added a spoon to that ever growing pile.

Suddenly, Jesse heard a noise at the door. A scratching noise that nearly scared the shit out of him. But his body soon left panic mode when he realized it was just Butterball, his cat.

He got up and cracked the door open to let the feline in. Its fur was brown with black stripes, like any modern house cat. He jumped on the bed and circled around before lying down. Jesse smiled and stroked his ears, knowing that was his favorite spot.

“Least you don’t have to worry about all this shit. All you worry about is your toys and takin’ shits,” Jesse said, as if he could understand.

Soon, he fell asleep with the cat by his side.

The dream was euphoric. Hanzo was straddled on top of him, in some expensive-looking bed that Jesse’s mind had interpreted as Hanzo’s room. The boy atop him leaned down slowly, a soft smile on his face. He made himself comfortable atop Jesse’s chest and then leaned in. His heart was racing as the Japanese boy’s lips pressed against his. A guilty fantasy, something that would be considered taboo, but he didn’t care.

_xx_

The next morning, rainfall was all Jesse could hear. A peaceful sound nonetheless. He sat up slowly and looked outside. It seemed that’s all the sky was going to do today was cry. _I feel ya_ , he thought, before getting up. His phone suddenly buzzed; a message from the group chat. He unplugged the phone off its charger and checked it.

_Edge Lord: it’s raining so im stuck at home, fuck_

Nobody else was online, as it was just 8 in the morning. Jesse knew that Gabriel knew he saw the message, but he didn’t dare say anything again. He didn’t know what to say, and he personally thought Gabriel just didn’t like him. Maybe. Possibly. Perhaps.

He locked his phone before getting up to go use the bathroom and at least shower. Ron was still sprawled on the couch, asleep. It had only been five hours anyway.

Surprisingly, when Jesse went up to the bathroom door, it was closed. He could hear soft shuffling inside. His mother was up using it, which was odd. Instead of standing there, he sat at the kitchen table and waited for her to be done. He hoped she didn’t hear him come up so she’d take her time. It was one of the few things left she had control of.

When Joy finished using the bathroom, she came out and slowly walked back to her room, not even looking in her son’s direction.

“Mornin’, ma,” he said, hoping her mood would brighten.

“Hey Jesse,” she whispered back, not even bothering to turn around. It was something, not entirely what he had expected.

His heart hurt when he heard her silently break down inside her room.

_xx_

Monday rolled by, and Jesse found himself back at school in his math class. The entire day, he was amused by the group chat, his friends definitely up to something. As he ignored the lecture of his teacher, he typed away his message for Sombra, who had unexpectedly started a conversation with him. She was more social and open, so he took the chance to ask her about Gabriel.

_Sombra: He’s just like that, has a lot of trust issues. His friends kinda abandoned him before because he had such bad anger issues from life at home. So he takes a bit to adjust._

_Sombra: My advice? Just apologize and let him adjust. He’s not the most outgoing._

_Jesse: I’ll take your word for it._

_Sombra: Yeah, but I just remembered, Mr. Lone Wolf who’s sitting right NEXT to me, wants ME to ask you if you wanted to come with us to this new club. He has sources for fake IDs and stuff if you want._

_Jesse: what kind of club is it?_

_Sombra: a dance club. Drinking. Drugs. That sorta shit._

_Jesse: Beats sitting at home. When?_

_Sombra: it opens tonight, so yeah. meet us at the Jimmy Johns downtown around 9._

_Jesse: sounds like a plan._

_xx_

He was nervous, to say the least.

He found himself staring in the mirror at the outfit he had put together.

It was different from what he usually wore. His cowboy boots were replaced with a pair of loafers, much to his own dismay. He was so used to his reliable old boots that wearing other shoes for once was weird. Nonetheless, he quickly adjusted.

His hat was taken off, and his hair was washed twice as a precaution for seeming dirty. His brown locks were separated down the middle, reaching just to his neck. He also donned a black v-neck under a brown leather jacket. He tried to wear his cleanest-looking pair of jeans, definitely needing a wardrobe upgrade.

On cue, there was a knock on the door from _him_. Jesse groaned internally, but knew this was his cue as well.

“I’m goin’ to the bar, don’t leave the house or I’m grounding you.”

“Yeah, sure,” Jesse responded, trying to not irk him.

The floorboards creaked louder, meaning Ron was going towards the front door. Jesse checked his clock. 8:35. Just enough time to steal his spare bus pass and head downtown.

The door slammed shut, and Jesse waited a good five more minutes before pocketing the card and leaving. He could feel his phone buzz in his pocket.

_Lone Wolf: im about to leave, how much should i bring for drinks and such?_

_Sombra: definitely $400, we’re a heavy crowd._

_Lone Wolf: alright, rip dad’s bank account_

_Sombra: he makes that amount by the hour, pendejo_

_xx_

Sombra was the most noticeable person standing in front of that Jimmy John’s, her clothes glowing neon pink and green. She dressed as if she was going to a rave. Her makeup was still a nice smoky brown though, drawing attention more towards her body.

Hanzo wore a similar getup to his usual, except he replaced his leather jacket with a black windbreaker. He turned around to show Jesse that it had a glowing palm tree on the back, much to the cowboy’s enjoyment.

“Aesthetic much?” Amelie commented. Her hair was done in a pin-up style, curls cascading just past her shoulders. She wore a strapless top that dipped down in the back, weaved together by thin strings. Her jeans stretched all the way down to her platform heels that had glitter shining all over. She held the same windbreaker as Hanzo’s in her arm, deeming it was too hot to wear it.

“You never feel the cold,” Gabriel pointed out, making Amelie stick her tongue out at him. He showed up with his hair styled upwards into a small mohawk with what his thick hair could manage. It looked much cleaner, and revealed an eyebrow piercing he wore so nicely. He didn’t change much of his style either, a navy blue dress shirt being the only difference. Jesse’s was red, much to his interest.

Akande showed up last in a pair of slacks and a dress shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and hugged his muscular arms well. He gave everyone a look before flashing a smile, revealing a golden grill. Sombra gasped in excitement. “Dude, you got it finally?”

“Took them 3 weeks, but yes, I find it rather stylish,” he responded proudly, fist to his chest.

“Dork,” Gabriel said, earning a playful glare from Akande.

“Let’s head towards the club. It’s almost nine,” Amelie said, checking her expensive-looking watch.

“Why do we have to walk there again? Why couldn’t we just wait at the club?”

“So you can get these, pendejo,” Sombra said to Gabriel, before slapping Hanzo on the shoulder. He reached into his pocket and pulled out several fake ID cards, one for each member of the group. They were given fake names, and Jesse had the pleasure of his name being _Chuck Rogers_ , a fit name for a cowboy. Chuck Norris, for example, was a great example of a cowboy in _Walker: Texas Ranger_. Jesse loved watching those shows with his grandfather as a kid, and nearly walked into a pole reminiscing on the good old days.

Hanzo noticed his near slip-up. “Are you feeling well?” he asked Jesse politely.

“Oh, uh. Yeah, just… high?”

Hanzo shrugged. “Much like everyone else here right now. I’m not much sober either. I always have a flask with me somewhere.” Hanzo opened his windbreaker slightly, revealing a tiny gourd tucked inside. It was small enough to not show through the coat.

“Clever,” Jesse commented, cheeks turning red. “How long are we gonna be here?”

“Probably until midnight, maybe one. We still have to go to school tomorrow, unfortunately. But we couldn’t miss the chance on this,” Hanzo explained.

“With this kind of crowd, I thought yall’d skip,” Jesse pointed out.

_xx_

Fake IDs had easily gained them access to the newest most exclusive club in this busy town. Bass was boosting throughout the walls, glowing vibrant shades of purple, blue, and green. The floors were all lit up, with a carpeted pathway towards the actual dance floor. A bar was decorated with neon glowing lights and had white leather stools. Bartenders were half naked, giant breasts popping out as they shook drinks. The crowd walked over to an empty circular booth, where they all sat down. Gabriel took a small bag out of his jacket, which revealed brownies.

“With or without nuts?” he asked casually.

He passed out the brownies, one eventually landing to Jesse.

“These will send you to one of our neighboring galaxies,” Sombra said with confidence as she swallowed hers within a few bites. Hanzo gave the brownie an odd look before shrugging and eating it.

“I had my doubts, but here you are trying drugs for the first time. What’s with the sudden confidence?” Amelie questioned.

“We’re skipping tomorrow. I have no worries for the next 24 hours,” Hanzo reasoned.

“Whatever floats your boat, mate,” a voice said. Behind Hanzo, Jamison popped his head up from the next booth over.

“Followed us in here?” Sombra asked, which earned a thumbs up from the Aussie. Mako popped his head up too, chewing on a chicken wing. He grunted a greeting.

“Oi, bartender, fuck us up!” Jamison called to the nearest half naked woman, who winked a response.

Shots were passed all throughout their table, where the two best friends had joined. They had a long history, growing up in the dead slums with nothing but each other. Their families were deadbeat, every man for themselves types. Jamie and Mako had to watch out for each other, and their rough history would be hard to explain to Jesse now in this point in time.

“Cheers!”

Five shots in, and Jesse could feel woozy. His head spun and felt fuzzy, it was a good feeling. He just couldn’t move his head too fast. Everything felt slow-mo. Hanzo was next to him, a tipsy grin on his face as he listened to his friends excitedly telling stories and laughing their asses off. The alcohol effects were kicking in, and Jesse could actually feel something. Not from the alcohol, but from these people around him. There was a warm feeling all throughout from him, the joy of feeling _wanted_.

“And then he starts digging through the garbage for the _hot dog_ !” Sombra cackled wildly, earning _hysterical_ laughs from everyone, even Amelie herself. Their laughs were barely muffled by trap music and the clinking of glasses throughout the club.

Jesse’s gut hurt from the laughing. He was drunk alright.

Gabriel gave Mako and Jamison brownies too, and fifteen minutes passed before Hanzo’s eyes widened.

“Zero tolerance over there,” Sombra whispered next to Jesse. Hanzo sat next to Amelie, who was next to Jesse. His face looked as if he was staring off into space. His pupils were shrunken. Everyone had noticed this and started chuckling wildly.

“Let’s hit the dance floor,” Amelie suggested, grabbing Hanzo’s and Jesse’s hands. The Japanese teen gasped in excitement, much to the girl’s surprise. She gave him a stunned look as he flashed an excited smile at her.

Both Jesse and Amelie were blushing like mad.

“ _Really_ ?!” Hanzo squealed. _Squealed_.

“Well, we found out Hanzo is a different person while under the influence, yes?” Akande joked.

“He’s definitely going to the dance floor now,” Mako said, the funny image of Hanzo trying to dance going through his head. He snorted to himself.

Hanzo was eventually dragged out of the booth, where he nearly had trouble walking.

“Amelie,” he whispered to her, leaning on her shoulder, “Will you dance with me?”

“But of course,” she joked back.

The dance floor was packed with people of all sorts, grinding, showing off their moves, or talking with their friends. Over 300 people had to be here, and Jesse caught himself in the middle of it all. The soundtrack changed to Mexican music, earning cheers from the crowd. Amelie and Hanzo wowed their group of friends by doing a salsa dance together. It earned a large group of spectators, some joining in and matching their moves.

“Who knew Hanzo could dance salsa?” Sombra said, locking hands with Gabriel and swaying her hips with his. Jamison was cackling as he and Mako did some other dance moves, their intoxication taking over any sane function they had left.

Jesse found himself dancing next to Akande, trying out some hip hop moves once the music changed again..

“There, move your feet like that. You got the hang of it, cowboy!”

Hanzo wasn’t even at the peak of his high and he looked so peaceful, so free when he danced. Not a care in the world had made a single wrinkle on his perfect face. His face was no longer in a frown. It was a beautiful grin flashing pearly whites as he moved next to the only people who mattered to him. This is what _living_ was. And Jesse was finally doing it.

Gabriel found himself dancing with Jesse to an electronic song, the two of them straying away from their friends and in the middle of strangers.

“Yo, can I be honest with you?” Gabriel shouted so he could be heard. His eyes were completely glazed, and Jesse knew this wasn’t the sober part of him talking.

“What’s up?” Jesse responded.

“I’m. Wasted. As. Fuck.”

“You gotta be blackout drunk for that,” Jesse laughed. Gabriel laughed back. Like Hanzo, he wasn’t worried. He was completely at ease having the time of his life with friends. Jesse took this as the perfect opportunity to release some tension.

“I’m sorry about earlier, I knew I came on too strong.”

“Don’t worry about it, my man.”

A smile spread across Jesse’s face, hoping drunk words were sober thoughts.

_xx_

By midnight, they had called it, all worn out and tired from all the dancing. They had a fun night, and this one would be for the books. The group chat was flooding with messages as Hanzo spammed it with various things. He was at his peak, and all he could think of was wanting a whole pot of curry and cup ramen; guilty pleasures back in Japan. He leaned on Amelie’s shoulder, who was making sure he could even stand upright.

Jesse leaned against a pole, where his vision was hazy from the effects. Everyone else was like this as well, but they knew how to handle it more. Well, besides Hanzo.

The group stood in the Jimmy John’s parking lot, the wind blowing harshly.

“I’m driving him home,” Akande said. He pointed to Hanzo, who was leaning against his car. His head was facing the sky. _Content_. “He mentioned to me you needed a ride as well, since the buses do not run this late.”

“Much appreciated,” Jesse said politely. Akande nodded and unlocked the car.

“It was nice hanging out with you, Jesse,” Gabriel called out, waving with two fingers. “You’re actually pretty cool.”

_Yessssss._

Jesse nodded and smiled before getting in the car. He sat in the back with Hanzo, who leaned his head on the window and huffed.

Akande waited for the rest of the groups to get in their cars. Sombra ended up taking Gabriel home, and Akande let Amelie take his own vehicle, much to her enjoyment.

“You’re good to drive, right?” Akande called. Amelie nodded and gave a thumbs up as the car engine came to life.

Jesse felt the car move, and a nice feeling had washed over him from the smoothness of Akande’s driving. They all left the parking lot, cautious of their driving.

Hanzo crossed his arms in a childish way, huffing again. Jesse looked over at him. He looked _pissed_.

“Hanzo?” Jesse asked. “You okay?”

“No. I most certainly am _not_ ,” he growled.

“Why’s that?”

“Because,” he said, looking in the mirror at Akande, “ _somebody_ isn’t going to take us to get Shogun.”

“You mean that expensive Japanese place? It’s 12 at night, Hanzo,” Akande laughed. “They are closed.”

“So? I’ll _double_ the pay if they open,” Hanzo smirked. Jesse laughed. Not only was Hanzo a good dancer, he was also very childish when he was intoxicated. He found it cute.

“You’re funny.”

They drove on, and eventually Hanzo had convinced Akande to at least stop at a Wendy’s nearby, claiming the club food was too expensive in the first place. Jesse found himself sharing _40_ nuggets with everyone, much to his enjoyment. Hanzo ate them slowly and savored every bite. Jesse wanted to bust out laughing when his eyes closed in euphoria.

He spoke in his native tongue, “These nuggets are fucking amazing _._ ”

Jesse raised a brow, and Akande busted out laughing. “W-what?” they said in unison.

“I said, these nuggets are fucking amazing.” Hanzo said, chewing softly. There were four nuggets between each of his fingers, holding them like shurikens. Jesse wanted to laugh.

“It is not often he speaks Japanese,” Akande pointed out. “He usually does it when angry, which hasn’t been in a while. At least, around us.”

“I wanted to tell him my business myself, thank you,” Hanzo pointed out, grimacing. It soon lifted off his face when he saw he still had a nugget left.

“I don’t know what you are saying, but I think a nugget will solve that.”

_xx_

Jesse’s house was still dark when they pulled up to it. Obviously, since nobody came home from the bar this early. His mother wouldn’t know either, so that was a plus.

“Nice seeing you, cowboy,” Akande said as Jesse started getting out of the car.

“Definitely. It was… pretty damn fun hangin’ out with y’all.”

Hanzo smiled and did a little finger wave, while Akande gave him a salute from the rearview mirror. These people were his actual friends. People who cared about him. Did stuff with him. This was something he had to cherish. It was a missed feeling.

Akande politely waited until Jesse got inside his house. When he was about to step inside, Hanzo called out from the car.

“You’re pretty handsome, cowboy!” His native tongue was slurred.

“Uh, you too?” _Shit, I hope he said nothing bad._

Hanzo gasped in excitement and rolled the window back up, waving bye again. The car drove off into the night, leaving Jesse alone with crickets and the buzzing of his street light. It was a peaceful, fun night. _Definitely_ one for the books. He went inside, sighing in content. That didn’t often come to him either.

He put Ron’s pass back exactly the way it was and creeped silently back to his room. He shut the door behind him before slowly sliding on it towards the floor. He brought out his phone, the bright screen illuminating his face. He went to the group chat and saw that Hanzo did in fact spam the group chat.

There were several photos of everyone, mostly selfies. One with Amelie and Hanzo, where she was blowing a kiss to the camera, a cheeky smile on the latter’s face. It warmed Jesse’s heart seeing how adorable that smile actually was.

A picture that stuck out was the entire group together. Jesse stood next to Hanzo, winking and pointing at the camera, while he had his eyes closed and was throwing up two peace signs with crossed arms. Akande stood in the back, a genuine smile on his face. He was next to Mako, who gave a resting bitch face to the lens. Jamison’s wild blonde hair peeked out from below him, long tongue thrown out of his mouth. His eyes were crossed, giving a goofy look. Amelie and Sombra stood with their arms around each other, giving bunny ears to the other. And finally, Gabriel stood next to Hanzo, sign of the horns thrown up with both hands while he had a straight face. His club. All his. A smile spread across Jesse’s face as he saved the picture.

Jesse scrolled upwards again and saw a selfie of Hanzo with a flower crown filter, while throwing up a cute peace sign over his mouth. Jesse opened his mouth in awe, that would definitely be going in his camera roll.

Another photo was of Hanzo and Jesse, much to the cowboy’s pleasure. Hanzo’s head rested on Jesse’s shoulder, and they were both throwing up peace signs with wide smiles. He didn’t even remember taking this one, but he was _not_ complaining. Saved.

There were pictures of the others too. A few videos even. One had Jamie and Mako doing the robot, and another with Sombra mocking the _Dancing Kanye_ meme. Hysterical laughter could be heard in the background as the camera panned to Jamison.

A few people started messaging the group chat, and the screen automatically scrolled down to them.

_Sombra: Hanzo are you okay_

_Doom: He fell out of the car, but snuck inside just fine._

_Sombra: Pobre sito._

Jesse locked his phone once a few moments had passed with no typing. He sighed. He was coming down from everything, happy how the night turned out.

_Gabriel started a private conversation with Jesse._

_Gabriel: I meant what I said back then btw._

_Gabriel: You’re pretty cool. And I guess you deserve to know what’s going on since you’re gonna be around more._

Jesse read the messages over and over again before unlocking his phone again. Gabriel was still typing, probably a much longer message. Jesse waited.

_Gabriel: I’m not on very good terms with my family. They think that me being depressed all the time somehow makes me a sociopath. I’m nowhere near that. My dad, mostly, is my biggest issue. My mom is… passed. And he doesn’t make things much better. He doesn’t help around the house which means I’m dedicating a day each week to cleaning the entire house, causing me to miss school. He is so fucking lazy, and doesn’t work either. We get $50 in food stamps TOPS, and that has to last us a month. I can’t do laundry a lot either because of how piss poor we are. I had to scrounge the couch once to look for change and go to a laundromat. And before you ask about my expensive phone, stolen and wiped._

_Gabriel: But yeah. I’m… not in the best condition a lot. If I ever wanna do drugs it’s when my friends offer them to me because I don’t have the money. I feel like shit for always taking and taking and never giving back._

_Gabriel: and you said something about having a deadbeat stepdad or whatever. I’m sure you can relate to at least that part._

_Jesse: Yeah. It’s… honestly close here. I think I had a limit of $60 on groceries, and my step dad drinks like a motherfucker. Abusive, alcoholic. I fight him at least twice a week, but he never calls the cops because he knows he’s going back to jail. It’s tough. Fucked._

_Gabriel: Jesus Christ, are we lost twins or something?_

_Jesse: probably_

_Gabriel: From what I’ve heard from Sombra, you were always alone. How did you even put up with that?_

_Jesse: Honestly? Drugs._

_Gabriel: Where do you get the money for them?_

_Jesse: That’s… something for another day maybe._

_Gabriel: Fair enough. But I’m gonna go to sleep. I’m tired as hell. It was good talking to you, Jesse. Hopefully everyone else opens up to you as well._

_xx_


	3. Boiling Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just what comes to your mind when you think of home?

_xx_

School was no different. Jesse had yet to see any of his friends, but he was surprised when he figured out Jamison had math class with him. His large boots were propped up on the desk as he texted away, large fingers moving faster than Jesse would like to admit. There was a bored look on his face.

Jesse walked over to him and sat in the adjacent desk. Jamison looked up when he saw somebody sit directly next to him in a nearly empty classroom. Students still had yet to arrive.

“You mind if I sit here?” Jesse asked politely.

“Oh, it’s just you. Yeah, sure, no problem,” Jamison responded, going back to texting. Jesse nodded and sat down, watching as everyone else came in. The group chat was alive and well as usual when he checked his phone.

_Widow: my parents are going to france without me_

_Widow: I’m so disappointed lol_

_Sombra: Literal bullshit, they promised you._

_Widow: nothing can make this better. I saved up for months and this is what happens._

_Sombra: You can’t buy your own plane ticket?_

_Widow: Not allowed_

_Lone Wolf: We can take you to Vegas and see the Eiffel Tower there_

_Widow: ha._

_Edge Lord: whose ass do I need to beat_

_Widow: mine, so I can become dECEASED_

_Gabriel: whoa_

“Oi, mate,” Jamison said, reaching over and tapping Jesse on the shoulder.

“Huh?” Jesse looked up.

“How do you spell _universal_?”

“U-n. I-v. E-r. S-a-l. Why?”

“I need to sound smart to impress someone.”

“You and me both,” Jesse laughed. “Who is it?”

“Eh. Rather not say.”

“Fair enough.”

Jamison wasn’t the type to be open about his feelings with someone. Jesse was the same way, too nervous to express himself. It’ll take a while, but the adjustment for not having friends to having friends was a long one. He wondered what Hanzo was like in a relationship. Was he the same way? Or would he smother someone with kisses right in the hallway?

_Lone Wolf created a group chat with Vaquero, Doom, Sombra, and Edge Lord._

_Lone Wolf: Guys, she’s bummed. I hate seeing her like this, any ideas to cheer her up?_

_Sombra: Get her drunk_

_Lone Wolf: we just did that._

_Sombra: so?_

_Doom: I suggest surprising her with plane tickets anyways, what are her parents going to do once they leave?_

_Lone Wolf: yeah you have a point. How much are they?_

_Doom: a round trip, first class, would probably be $800-$900 tops. Plus she needs a rental car, and all the other fixings. Probably around $3000 for safe measures._

_Lone Wolf: Say no more._

_Doom: You are too kind, Hanzo._

_Lone Wolf: duh_

_Vaquero: How should we surprise her?_

_Sombra: It talks_

_Edge Lord: Just stuff it in her locker with a note from all of us. She can’t turn down gifts, it’s against her values._

_Lone Wolf: That’s so middle school. Let’s surprise her on Friday when we go to clubs._

_Edge Lord: I tried_

Jesse’s finger accidentally slipped over the little picture icon, bringing up his camera roll, ready to send pictures. Jesse and Hanzo’s faces were the first thing to pop up, making butterflies spread throughout his stomach. Jamison peeked over once he saw Jesse had stopped texting and was just staring at his phone.

“How long?”

Jesse looked up. “What?”

“How long you been diggin’ that, mate?”

His heart nearly stopped when he realized just what the Aussie was talking about.

“Uh. Well. A few days?”

“He digs ya, I can tell.”

“Wait,” Jesse paused, “how so?”

“He gave you googly eyes all night, you were too wasted to notice. It’s cute, actually. Somebody like Hanzo I never thought would be capable of love.”

“Why is that?”

“His past is... cloudy. It’s not my place to say.”

This made Jesse wonder for ther rest of the class what exactly Hanzo was struggling through that made him the way he was.

He never did end up thinking to the bottom of it, but he was tempted to ask Hanzo more about his life.

He left the room with Jamison once the bell rang, talking casually about the homework they had been assigned. As it turns out, the Aussie was actually very good at math. The teacher had even suggested he take advanced classes, but Jamison insisted that he wasn’t _that_ good. Jesse was surprised with how fast he could process simple math. Faster than anyone he had met.

“Hanzo is better at geometry than me. It’s the only thing I need work on. Other than that, I consider myself A1, yeah?”

“I think the only thing in school I’ll ever be good at is pissing off Brown,” Jesse laughed, much to Jamison’s enjoyment. He cackled loudly, gaining looks from other students as they pushed through the halls.

“That’s not necessarily a _bad_ thing, mate. Oh, look, it’s Mako.”

“Hm,” the burly teen said, face completely straight. He waved a hand with black painted nails towards the two. “Jamie, you got a moment?”

“What’s up?”

“I guess he deserves to know about it too since he’s associated with us. My dad told me last night there were rising levels of gang activitity. Come on, let’s walk, we’re crowding up the hall.”

Jesse raised a brow and walked with them to a more secluded spot in the hall.

“Why’s that such a bad thing?”

“Well, they have reputations. Bad reputations. Kidnapping, rape, that sort of thing. He looks into these things because those gangs usually target low income families, like ours. He told me to warn my friends and make sure we don’t walk home alone, shit like that. So you both better be safe.”

“I doubt some Tommy Gun wielding _fucks_ are gonna lay hands on me,” Jamie said proudly, earning a slap on the back of the head.

“You _idiot_ , these guys are the real deal.”

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Jamie said, rolling his eyes. “Fuckin’ wankers can’t get anywhere near us, so they pick on the weak instead. I’d fuck them up in a heartbeat if I had a say!”

“Yeah, put a sock in it.”

_xx_

Jesse hadn’t thought too much about what Mako pointed out, concluding he wasn’t going to be outside alone much anyways. He did, however, live in a really low income neighborhood, where there were a lot of old, crappy houses. Including Jesse’s. There were a few gang incidents, and once, they had come into people’s houses and robbied them. It was pretty bad, and he was thankful for once that Ron had a scary reputation. They still had yet to be robbed. He hoped it would stay that thing.

As usual, he checked the group chat on the bus home. The one without Amelie had been abandoned to erase any evidence. Apparently she was good at finding out things, like the scary girlfriend type. But that wasn’t the actual case. She had mentioned at the club that she had once aspired to be a detective.

_Sombra: wow it’s dead today_

_Lone Wolf: Typical Mondays_

_Sombra: yeah good point_

_Widow: I wish i was DEAD today_

_Doom: Shh no you don’t_

The girl had quite a personality. Very quiet, but when with her friends, she actually came out of her shell a little bit. The resting bitch face was always there, that was one thing for sure. She also seemed to be very close with Hanzo. If the two were secretly dating, it actually didn’t irk Jesse. He was happy for them.

Soon, he was home. It was cloudy out, with a high chance of rain later on. A perfect, boring Monday to do absolutely nothing. Ron wasn’t home either, so that was a bonus. However, Jesse had noticed he’d been home a lot less. He hoped he found another woman so he’d leave his family alone to repair. It would take a while, but would definitely be worth it.

The TV was on a low volume when Jesse walked through the living room. He saw that his mother’s door was open, and she no longer was in her bed. Most likely with _him_ , he hoped. Why had he been taking her out more? He was acting unreasonably _generous_ lately. Confusing.

_xx_

For the entire week, that’s how it was. Jesse didn’t know why, but the only time he even got a chance to see his mother was if he was up at 5 in the morning. She seemed to be a lot more active, too. She put actual clothes on, usually long-sleeved shirts and pants, but it was fit for the weather. Usually she wore a nightgown all day.

At least she still showered. That much she could do.

When Jesse walked into Miss Ling-Zhou’s office that Friday, he saw his friends doing their own things. Hanzo was sitting at the desk with the big leather chair, typing away on a laptop. He looked focused, so Jesse simply nodded towards him and walked towards the group.

“Where’s Amelie?” Jesse asked, curious.

“Somewhere. She said she’s on her way,” Sombra explained. She was also focused on a laptop, sunken into a bean bag chair.

Akande stood over a small tank, holding a few reptiles inside. He fed them some insects and watched happily as they were eaten up.

“They had all sorts of these critters back in New Mexico,” Jesse explained, walking up next to him.

“In Africa, when I visited, it was the same way. Not reptiles, but there would be a lot of exotic animals on my walks.”

Jesse nodded his head an hummed politely as Akande continued to feed crickets. The reptiles snapped their jaws eagerly at the bugs, eating them in one bite.

“The food chain is always going to be there,” Akande said, “the weak will be preyed on by the strong. Much like us, with Principal Brown.”

Jesse snorted, agreeing completely. “Yeah. I’ve witnessed it firsthand.”

Eventually, Amelie arrived, a tired look on her face with baggy eyes. She tried her best to cover it up with makeup, but the way her eyes were slightly droopy gave it away. She hadn’t slept well. And by the look of her eyes, she had possibly been crying. Or was high. Either or.

“Jesus,” Sombra commented, “you alright?”

Amelie nodded silently. She took the beanbag next to Gabriel and took out her phone, texting quietly.

Everyone looked at her, especially Hanzo. He smirked and stood up, bringing the laptop with him.

“Amelie,” he said. The girl looked up and actually sniffled. Hanzo walked over to her and handed her the laptop, where an email was open on the browser.

“What is this?” she asked, looking at it.

“Your surprise.”

She read the email, and eventually a shocked look came on her face. Everyone smiled, seeing her reaction as priceless.

“You got this for me?”

“Of course. Why not?” Akande said.

“You guys… thank you.”

“It’s not a problem. Your flight leaves tomorrow. So don’t miss it,” Hanzo stated as he took the laptop back. Amelie stood up slowly and hugged him tight.

“Group hug!” Sombra called out. She and everybody else locked arms around Amelie, who started crying tears of joy. “ _Merci_ , Hanzo. I had never expected you to do something like this for me.”

“Like I’d let you miss this opportunity,” he said proudly. They stayed like that for a while. Jesse wad lucky enough to be hugging both Hanzo and Amelie, with everyone else around him. His cologne smelled like heaven.

“Now then,” Sombra started, “let’s get to the next step of the plan.”

“What plan?” Amelie asked as everyone separated.

“Principal Brown wasn’t too happy with us flooding the bathroom and fucking up Thompson’s class. My info suggests that he’s having some sort of discipline assembly for all the clubs next week.”

“So…?”

“We’re gonna foil that assembly. And to do that, we need the cooperation of a lot of other clubs.”

“Let’s get started then. It’s the least I can do before I go.”

_xx_

Jamison and Mako were on the third floor with their own club. A bunch of wild people, and even a few from the anger management class. Their room was actually an old janitor’s closet, big enough to fit around five people. They sat in a circle, playing cards. Around them were old cleaning supplies, and a few cigarettes laying around. Smoking wasn’t prohibited, but that didn’t stop them.

“Alright, there’s 40 points here,” Jamison said, placing down a one-eyed jack on the table. “How many am I at?”

“...40,” Mako said, pencil in hand as he kept score.

“I mean all together, ya ding dong.”

“40.”

“And you’re at?”

“375.”

“Sorry to intrude,” Sombra said, knocking, “but we have some plans to attend to, right?”

“Yeah yeah, you’re right. Alright fellas, let’s go.”

The hallways were quiet with the students walking through it. They made sure their footsteps were light and didn’t distract any of the other clubs that weren’t involved. They made their way to the gym. The place was huge, and was currently home to the track club. But thanks to the warm weather still somewhat holding up, they were outside.

Sombra escorted them to the boys’ locker room. Amelie and her were the only girls, but that didn’t stop them. The light flickered on, revealing hundreds of red lockers, all belonging to somebody. A few of them were open, with their swimsuits or clothes hanging carelessly. Water was in a few puddles on the floor.

“First order of business,” Sombra said, standing up on a bench and looking around for any teachers, “we have to sabotage the gym. There’s no way brown is having an assembly anywhere else. We’ll start by TP’ing the bleachers. These locker rooms have bulk toilet paper, because, well, boys go through a lot of toilet paper.”

“Girls do too, yeah?”

“More tampons than paper, but basically.”

“Gross,” Jesse commented, earning a chuckle from Hanzo.

They split up and ridded the stalls of any toilet paper they had left, and snuck back out of the locker room. The beautiful thing about this was that the school didn’t have security cameras. They were too expensive, and the board believed having officers at the school might give it a bad reputation. Brown might rethink it after what they were about to pull.

Jamison suggested that they grab soap as well, to make the situation a little bit more interesting. Armed to the teeth with toilet paper and soap, they made their way in the gym.

It was big, empty, and windy, from the industrial air conditioning. A mural of the mascot was spread across the wall, a giant gorilla mercilessly roaring at its opponents. Jesse thought it was cool, and reminded him somewhat of _King Kong_.

Gabriel was the first one to start throwing toilet paper. It sprawled across the bleachers in thin, white strips. Jamison unscrewed the cap of the soap he had stolen and began pouring it as if it was gasoline.

Hanzo and Jesse looked at each other before chucking the rolls over basketball hoops, making it look like a haunted house. The rest of their friends laughed and ran around the gym, covering as much ground as they could. Amelie managed to throw toilet paper right by the air conditioner. It blew wildly with the air.

“Nice,” Gabriel commented, witnessing it. She did a theatrical bow in response.

Jamison was having the time of his life watching the soap and paper stick together on the bleachers, making a huge mess. The fluid dripped down between the seats and caused the floor to be slippery.

“Oops, dropped something,” he said as he spilled the rest of the soap in a puddle. He covered it in toilet paper and scrunched it up into a ball. His hands were full of soap, but what he was going to do next made him indifferent.

With all his might, he let out a scream as he hoisted it across the gym, splattering it against the wall with a wet smacking sound. Everyone looked over and saw the chunk slowly sliding down the wall.

Mako added onto it by getting a sharpie and vandalizing the wall. He drew a wicked smiley face with X’s for eyes and a tongue sticking out, similar to the symbol on Jamison’s _Nirvana_ t-shirt, but not quite.

“Next order of business,” Sombra called out to everyone, “ _RUN_!”

Muffled laughs and loud foosteps echoed as they all hauled ass back towards their club rooms. If there was one thing Jesse wasn’t used to, it was being rebellious. He had that phase growing up around Ron, but to actually do fun things in rebellion was even better. First it had been flooding the bathroom and trashing Mr. Thompson’s room, and now trashing the entire gym with toilet paper and wet, soppy piles of soap.

“One more thing!” Jamison shouted. He zipped open his pants and went right then and there, making sure to cover a lot of ground..

“Even more gross than tampons, McCree?” Sombra asked as she spectated the crazy kid.

“Not quite. But it’s up there.”

“Jamie, what the _fuck_!” Mako shouted at him.

“Shush, Mako, I’m markin’ me territory!”

“You ain’t an animal!”

“No, but I sure do act like one, yeah?”

Mako sighed.

_xx_

“Mission accomplished,” was the first thing said by Sombra when they made their way back to Room 204. Even Jamison and Mako tagged along.

“So what do you lot even do here?” the blonde asked, taking a seat in the overly plush beanbag. “This is that science teacher’s office. She lets you use it?”

“Yeah, pretty much. She’s a nice woman. Even has pets here,” Sombra said, gesturing to the tank. Jamison gasped in awe and bolted over to it.

“Wow. Come look at this, Roadie! This one looks like your ol’ Daisy.”

“Roadie?” Hanzo asked from the big desk. He sat on it, legs crossed. Jesse was next to him, leaing on it with his hands in his pockets.

“Long story. Short story is that he has bikers for family.”

“Then it’s a fitting nickname.”

Jamison continued to eye the animal while Mako watched from a distance, eyeing _him_. It was then that Jesse noticed Amelie looking at them from the corner of her eye. She was one of the types that saw everything, huh? Was it possible she knew he liked Hanzo?

“Good evening, Pacific Academy of the Arts. This is an automated announcement telling you that there are five minutes remaining of clubs, and we urge you to go to your designated pickup location. The time is 7:53 PM.”

“Usually that announcement comes on at 7:55, is their clock off?” Gabriel commented.

“Not sure, but Brown is gonna have the time of his life once he sees what we did,” Akande responded.

“You think he’s gonna reschedule that assembly?” Jamison asked, not looking up from the tank.

“No doubt. But holding it off is the closest thing we can achieve for now.”

“Speaking of him,” Jesse started, “I’m curious as to what exactly Brown _did_ to you all to make you want revenge on him.”

“Oh, you want us to start?” Sombra said. “He told me directly off the bat I needed help. The _first_ thing he said when I sat down was that. No more. It was my first time meeting the guy, and he’s telling me I’m showing signs of being a _pinche_ sociopath.”

“It’s the same with nearly all of us. But truth is, we’re not all loners like he thinks," Hanzo said, arms crossed and eyes closed.

“Uh, you kind of are a sociopath,” Amelie commented.

“Yes, but that’s besides the point, we all get shitty grades too. We’re good at what we do, but the teachers like to pick favorites.”

“Jesus, it’s the same for you too?” Jesse gasped.

“He told me that Roadie was a bad influence on me. I saw his file on me too, he labeled me as a potential _bomb threat_! Which, I mean, is right, but still!” Jamison shouted.

This earned a few laughs from everyone. Amelie spoke up, “My parents have told him terrible things about me. They’re true, but he gives me a hard time because of it.”

“I act shady around him because of these,” Gabriel said. Everyone watched surprisingly as he rolled his sleeve up. Cuts and bruises coated his arms, all of them from one specific person. Blues and purples looked like a blotched tattoo. It looked slightly swollen as well.. “My dad did this to me nearly every week.”

“Jesus,” Jesse whispered, “I’m… sorry, Gabriel.”

“Nothing to worry about.” Gabriel pulled his sleeves down. “I guess you should know. He’s an abusive prick. And if the police find out about this, I’m going into foster care. It’s happened before, and it was _not_ fun. So I just put up with it.”

“Is there any way you can stop it?”

“If he’s high, he isn’t angry. So I convinced him to let me be his middleman if it meant no beatings.”

It was ridiculous, honestly, how Gabriel’s situation turned out to be. Akande shook his head in disbelief. Jesse wanted to ask more, but he felt it wasn’t his place to when Gabriel was voluntarily sharing his story like this.

Akande said, “My family was born in Africa, but I was born here. I have a rich family. But because of their astounding amounts of criminal records, I’m forced to be treated like I’m some sort of scum as if I’ll follow in their footsteps. But let’s face it, being bad is what made me get this nice laptop and headset, right? I’m good at what I do. What do I have to worry about?”

Mako cleared his throat. “I was in a shootout with nearly my entire family against a rival biker gang. I ended up getting arrested because of it, but let go on bail. I’m lucky it was only $100. But Brown treats me like ass for it. He tries to give _everyone_ an excuse to go to counseling or juvie, even. It’s bullshit.”

“Too right,” Jamie commented.

Hanzo sighed. “The point is, each of us owe him an ass beating. And that does not seem likely."

“At least after this,” Sombra said, “we can focus on Halloween soon.”

“Too right again. Doin’ my Hayseed costume again this year!” Jamison giggled in excitement, and Mako gave him an odd look.

_xx_

The way out of school to go home, they all talked about their potential plans for the upcoming season. A chill breeze brushed some leaves up, and Sombra smiled when she realized the season was coming sooner than she thought. The sky was a nice navy blue, with purples and pinks on the horizon. A few clouds dusted themselves across the sky, and blended in with the pastels.

“I’m taking Amelie to the airport tomorrow,” Hanzo said. “So we should say our goodbyes to her.”

The French girl hugged everyone tightly and thanked them again for the surprise. Even reluctantly did she hug Jamison, who was a fan of the sudden gesture. A small blush spread across his face and she let out a halfhearted laugh.

When it was Jesse’s turn, she snaked her arms around her waist and pressed her head against his chest. “Have fun with your little wolf boy,” she whispered jokingly. Jesse flinched at her words and smiled nervously.

“Heh. Yeah. Have fun in France.”

She stopped hugging him and nodded before getting on a bus, like many of the others. Hanzo and Jesse were the last to leave the group.

“Jesse,” he said, “do you need a ride home?”

“Uh, nah. The bus is fine.”

“I can take you home.”

“I mean, do you want to?”

“Kind of.”

Jesse chuckled. “Why?”

“You’re a good person,” Hanzo started. Their eyes locked, and Jesse saw the kindness in them. It was just them, and the buses slowly drove away to drop the many kids off. The campus was empty, and the only sounds heard were rustling leaves and the flag waving wildly. A blush spread across each of their faces.

“I guess I have to get a ride from you now, huh?” Jesse said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

“I mean it though.” Hanzo changed the subject again, which was surprising to Jesse. “You are. You’ve been lonely for all these years, and now that you have friends, you’re coming out. We noticed it immediately. I’m just… glad to say we have you on our side now. For once, Brown did something right.”

Jesse stood there, mouth slightly agape in shock. He blinked rapidly, to see if this wasn’t just a dream. But Hanzo continued to be in front of him. Then he started walking towards him, and a sudden warmth spread around his chest. Hanzo was hugging him tightly, head leaning on his shoulder. Without hesitation the cowboy hugged back. It felt good to finally do this. He had been wanting to for so long.

It wasn’t long, but he was grateful for it anyway.

Hanzo nodded and shot a fist in the air.

“Let’s go!” he shouted in Japanese.

“I still can’t understand ya.”

Hanzo said nothing as he eagerly grabbed Jesse’s hand and lead him to the car. This sudden positive energy eminating from him gathered a good sensation. A good _vibe_. A laugh came out of Jesse’s mouth as he ran with Hanzo.

“You’re gonna love Society, I promise you that!”

_xx_


	4. Eye for an Eye

_   xx _

Amelie had made it to the airport safely and had big expectations for France. She explained how she would be gone completely for a few days, wanting to take full advantage of the trip. No messages, no calls.

Meanwhile, Jesse was still stuck at home as Saturday trudged by. He watched the news for once in a great while, the house to himself again. A cup of ice water sat in one hand, remote in the other as he mindlessly watched the trash they were spouting. National news wasn’t new to him. He knew the world was constantly going through something and it didn’t interest him in the slightest. Why should he give a fuck if there’s a controversial president when his stepdad is a bigger threat to him? And why should he even bother with rich people shitting out of their mouths when Jesse  _ wished _ he had their fortunes? It was useless.

He checked the group chat out of boredom.

_ Edge Lord: My sister literally just asked what a dick was _

_ Sombra: What did you say to her _

_ Edge Lord: I told her that it meant several things but the most important term is that it’s her dad _

_ Sombra: 10/10 response _

_ Doom: Has he been lenient with things lately? _

_ Edge Lord: Sort of. He’s been gone more often. Idk where he’s been tho _

Interesting, considering how Ron’s been gone more often as well.

Jesse was happy that his mother was actually getting out of the house and wearing legit clothes for once. Just last night she came home with Orange Julius and no look of misery on her face. Ron was drunk or  _ something  _ because he didn’t bitch or moan to Jesse who had been eating cereal in the kitchen when it happened.

That morning they had gone out again, but Ron still did not say where. It wasn’t his place to ask, and somewhere in Jesse didn’t want to ask. His mother seemed slightly happy for once, and asking might give him an answer he might not want to hear. Ignorance is bliss.

_ Lone Wolf: somebody help _

_ Lone Wolf: im hungover and need water and that requires getting up _

_ Sombra: pobre sito _

_ Lone Wolf: i will die without that water, how dare you take humor out of this situation _

_ Sombra: ???? _

_ Edge Lord: if you’re that lazy then crawl to the bathroom and drink the sink water. _

_ Lone Wolf: good idea _

_ Lone Wolf: brb _

_ Doom: He’s actually going to do that… _

_ Sombra: knowing him hungover I never would doubt it. _

_ xx _

The evening rolled by and Jesse was spread out over his bed letting the fan blow his hair every which way. He was woken up by the front door opening. Ron was home, and he hoped his mother was as well. He slowly got up and peeked his head out of his room to see.

His mother had just passed his room and was making her way back to her own. There was a plastic bag in her hand filled with what looked like takeout boxes. Okay, now Jesse was really skeptical as to where they were going and doing. Ron never dropped money on her like this unless it was a holiday. But for the past few days they had been coming home with leftovers from restaurants or random goodies from a convenience store. He wasn’t mad, more curious. Maybe Ron had a sudden change of heart?

The only thing holding Jesse back from asking was that he didn’t want to piss off Ron and possibly end this for his mother. She was out of the house more, actually showering and getting properly dressed. She was eating well too, and he hoped she was eating fatty foods just because of how frail she was.

Despite that, he was still insanely curious. He knew that they were piss poor. Their family lived off government checks and random acts of kindness. This newfound source of income had to be coming from someone. Or something.

He lay back down on his bed and thought, clutching his phone in his hand and a newly lit joint.

Jesse wasn’t sure how Ron would think of a way to make money and spoil his significant other. It was too nice. He was barely nice to Joy, and no doubt hit her when Jesse was at school. Only once had Jesse tried pounding Ron’s face in when he saw bruises on his mother’s face. And with a gun pointed to his head, he never did it again. But he swore that if he caught him in the act, Jesse would kill him.

Ron was always one to wave the gun around when things got bad. Yet lately he hadn’t been bringing it out. That fight they had a few days ago had scared the living shit out of Jesse. He had gotten this unexpected adrenaline in his veins and had the urge to fight back.

Ron was always never afraid to use it.

He shot Jesse’s dog when they had first moved in together because it wouldn’t stop barking at him. That’s when Jesse knew he was a cruel character. That dog wouldn’t bark at anyone kind-hearted. Especially Joy.

He also tried shooting their cat recently because it kept sitting in front of the TV. Thankfully he was drunk and his aim was off, but the busted TV was a result, right above the cat’s head. Jesse remembers it scurrying and screeching into his room, hiding under the bed for weeks.

There was also an incident where Jesse should have died.

_ xx _

_ Sombra: i hope hanzos okay lol _

_ Doom: He should be. I’m sure he’s sleeping like a baby right now. _

_ Lone Wolf: im just eating rn _

_ Doom: Quick question. _

_ Lone Wolf: aim. shoot. _

_ Doom: Since you tried pot, have you thought about experimenting with it more? _

_ Seen by Lone Wolf at 6:27 PM _

_ Sombra: hes left us on read for like 10 minutes _

_ Doom: Hanzo what’s the big deal? _

_ Lone Wolf: perhaps _

_ Doom: What? _

_ Sombra: no fuckin way _

_ Doom: I’m lost. _

_ Sombra: hanzo is fucking baked _

_ Doom: Is this true, Hanzo? _

_ Lone Wolf: perhaps _

_ Edge Lord: Whats happening omg _

_ Edge Lord: is hanzo turning into a stoner _

_ Doom: How do you know he’s baked? _

_ Sombra: (attachment: 1 image) “Don’t send this to them lol” _

_ Lone Wolf: you’re such a traitor _

_ Lone Wolf: look at my eyes _

_ Doom: You look like you got punched in the eyes _

_ Edge Lord: award for most blazed goes to the shimada _

_ Vaquero: im proud. _

_ Sombra: it speaks _

_ Lone Wolf: alright, so the truth is out. Ive been smoking for a while now. Probably since i joined society. _

_ Sombra: whoa, we never knew this?? _

_ Doom: Sombra probably did. She has ways. _

_ Sombra: not uh _

_ Doom: … _

_ Sombra: okay, maybe. Lying to your friends ain’t cool tho _

_ Lone Wolf: i have a rep to keep with my dad, you know. Thats why i dont even do it that often. Maybe two or three times a month. _

_ Sombra: eh. Everyone has their secrets. But the truth it out now, mwahahah _

_ Lone Wolf: :( _

_ xx _

There was a knock on his door. Not a bang, or a shout, but a simple knock. Curious, Jesse got up and cracked it open. Ron stood there waiting expectantly. With the getup he had on, no doubt he was planning to go somewhere again.

“What?” Jesse asked, confused. Ron normally didn’t knock.

“Goin’ out with your mother again. Lock the door, or something.”

Ron walked away like it had been normal conversation with another person instead of the notorious  _ Salt Lick _ .

Jesse stood there, dumbfounded, before mumbling out, “Uh, okay.”

_ Jesse started a private chat with Gabe. _

_ Jesse: So uh, quick question, you told me your dad had been going out more right? _

_ Gabe: yeah why? _

_ Jesse: my stepdad’s been doing the same thing which is odd. And its starting to concern me. Hes treating my mom better and taking her places. Thing is, we dont have the money to do nice things like that. So im wondering how hes getting the money. _

_ Gabe: yeah i wonder that about my dad too, but hes not harassing my sister and i as much so i just let him do as he pleases. _

_ Jesse: see, i’d do the same thing if it was just him, but hes taking my mom out a LOT. i don’t think hes getting the money from a uh… reliable source. _

_ Gabe: so you think hes getting involved in some deep shit? _

_ Jesse: possibly. It wouldn’t be his first time. I just wanna make sure my moms okay. _

_ Gabe: i feel you. I have to watch out for bella just because of the shit hes done in the past. _

_ Jesse: see, thats how i see it with my mom. Hes done some fucked up shit and now all of a sudden hes telling me to lock the door and basically be safe. Its uncomfortably reassuring. If that makes sense. _

_ Gabe: sort of? It is weird that this started happening around the same time. Maybe theyre working together or something lol _

_ Jesse: doing what? _

_ Gabe: my guess is that my dads starting to push drugs again. He was a dealer back in his days, not much of a secret if you run a background check on him. He was bad at covering tracks. _

_ Jesse: i thought you were his middleman? _

_ Gabe: i am, but im talking about drugs drugs. Not just weed. Weed isn’t a drug. Its a plant made by nature that has the chemical properties to make you feel good like a drug does. _

_ Jesse: i doubt my stepdad would be the type to deal drugs. He cant even remember where he puts his beers half the time, hes so fucked up _

_ Gabe: my advice, keep an eye out for him and see what hes up to. For your mom. _

_ xx _

Soon, Monday rolled by, and Jesse was stuck in the same math class with Jamison. He still never knew how he didn’t see him before. His hair was the highlight of anyone in the room with him. And the leather jacket he busted out for the cold was covered in patches and holes and everything that screamed experience.

Jesse wondered if Jamison had been through hell.

“So that concludes the chapter. Now I’ll be handing out the reviews and then have the test on Thursday. It’s more than enough time for everyone to finish it.” The teacher seemed to look directly at Jesse when he said it. The cowboy tipped his hat down to avoid eye contact, earning a snicker from Jamison.

“You need help that bad, I’m more than happy to assist,” he said, before taking the pile of packets being passed around. He took one and gave it a once-over before laughing again. “I’m not gonna need this.”

“I forgot how good at math you are,” Jesse said as he took the pile from him.

“Stuff just clicks with me. Everyone has their own hidden talent. What’s yours, mate?”

“You want the truth?”

“‘S why I asked.”

“Taking pictures. Haven’t done it in a while, but I like capturing moments.”

“Oh, you wanna take a picture of this now, do ya, sheila?” Jamison joked as he stuck out his tongue and threw up a middle finger. “One for the camera.”

Jesse shrugged and took out his phone before snapping a quick picture.

The door to the room busted open and in ran a freshman. He was breathing heavily with a smile on his face. “Yo, Reyes just got into another fight!”

Immediately, kids started pouring out of the room to see what was going on. The teacher desperately tried to keep them inside, but gave up when he saw the crowd forming in the hallway. Jamison and Jesse got up as well, curious.

“Who’s Reyes?” Jesse asked.

“Right, I forgot you’ve only been with us for like a week. You’ll know who Reyes is when you see him,” Jamison responded before pulling Jesse out of the room by the sleeve. They shoved through several kids chanting for the fight to go on.

Eventually they made their way to the front of the crowd.

Jesse raised his brows when he saw Gabe throwing hands with one of the bigger seniors, and winning.

“This is what you get,” Gabe shouted, before raising a fist, “when you  _ fuck  _ with someone like me!”

The senior’s glasses had fallen off of his face, snapped and broken once Gabriel’s fist collided with his face. A sickening groan came from the bigger boy as he fell to the ground. He covered his face in pain. The crowd was screaming obscenities and urging Gabriel to continue.

“Nobody likes the gloat he’s beatin’ up. But this must mean Gabriel’s going back to his old ways,” Jamison said casually.

Gabriel laughed maniacally and kicked the bully in the side. Jesse cringed. Why was he doing something like this? He thought he was such a more calm person. Or maybe it was just the drugs. Jesse didn’t expect Gabe have such a violent side to him.

“Old ways?” he asked

“Oh yeah. He’s always been angry.”

Jesse stared as Gabriel pinned the bully and started pounding his face in. His face was already bruised and wet from crying. Punch after punch, Gabe continued to lay into him. There was no stopping. And pretty soon, the bully had stopped struggling.

Jamison shoved himself through the crowd towards Gabriel. He took no hesitation in hoisting Gabriel off of his victim, arms locking around the younger boy’s chest.

“What the  _ fuck _ !” Gabriel screamed. He squirmed and kicked as he tried moving his arms to free himself, but Jamison had him beat in terms of strength.

The blonde whispered in his ear, eyes darting around to make sure nobody could hear, “Mate, you’re makin’ a real mistake here if you think I’m gonna let you kill someone again.”

Gabriel scoffed and stopped struggling. “Yeah, alright, fine,” he muttered.

Jamison set him down and Gabe took the time to look at the boy he had just beaten senseless. He was unconscious, his chest rising and falling slowly.

His perpetrator scoffed and crossed his arms. “Pathetic.”

Gabriel looked at everyone around him, who were staring back at him in horror.

“Yeah, you assholes get a kick out of the insanity and misery of others, huh? NONE of you bitches know my fuckin’ story!” he shouted, pointing in a circle before busting through the crowd and down the hall. Jamison didn’t bother to try and go after him. Times like these meant he needed to be alone and think of what he had done.

Gabriel’s violent episodes didn’t happen that often. But this time was bad. He had knocked somebody unconscious and probably would have killed them if he wasn’t stopped. His dad hadn’t been upsetting him lately, but something about him possibly dealing again meant that he had to keep his guard up. He didn’t want to have to kill somebody again.

Sprinting down the hall, he was thinking of somewhere to go. He had to get out of the school and take some time off from everything. A part of him wanted to run away and never be around anyone again, but his sister back at home waiting is what held him back each time. He had to protect her. He didn’t want to have to kill somebody again.

Meanwhile, the crowd had thinned, people not wanting to be questioned by security about what had happened. A few people stayed just to watch. The nurse had come rushing down the hall and started tending to the bully while security answered questions from a few students. Jesse had ran off, mostly because he had just eaten an edible and didn’t want to talk to cops while under the influence. Jamison had ran off too, doing a finger wave as he jogged down the hall.

Jesse found himself in the bathroom, mind in a completely different universe. He had locked himself in a stall so he could calm down. He sat on the top of the toilet, feet on the seat. Lucky for him, his lunch period was next. He had seriously underestimated the power of the two cookies he had eaten.

His mind was wandering, and he started thinking of a funny picture he saw on the Internet. He stifled a laugh under his hand, various raspberries and snorts coming from him as tears fell from his eyes in laughter. He couldn’t help himself. The drug was impacting his laughter so much that he nearly pissed himself laughing.

With his laughter, he failed to notice that somebody was walking in. And said person could hear him giggling to himself.

“What the hell…” he muttered. He slowly creeped towards the stall that the uncontrollable laughter was coming from. “Jesse?”

There was no response, just more giggling. The boy knocked on the stall door and that’s when Jesse stopped.

“Oh, shit, sorry,” Jesse apologized.

“Jesse, is that you?”

“Hanzo?” His heart sped up. His crush had just walked in on his high ass giggling to himself about a meme.

“What are you doing giggling to yourself in here?”

The stall door opened, and Jesse revealed himself, towering over Hanzo. He looked him in the eyes, and that’s when a smile grew on Hanzo’s face. Jesse smiled back widely.

“On a scale of 1 to 10?” Hanzo asked.

“I’d say about a 13.”

“You have half an hour to sober up before you go to your next class. Are you truly prepared?” Hanzo joked.

“Not in the slightest.”

Hanzo held up a hand to high-five the cowboy, who did so gladly. Instead of just slapping his hand, Jesse locked his hand with Hanzo’s. A blush spread across the Japanese boy’s face as his eyes drifted towards their interlocked hands. Jesse’s hand seemed to devour his.

They locked eyes for a good few seconds before Jesse realized what he was doing. He quickly retracted his hand and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Oh, uh, sorry.”

“No, you’re… fine,” Hanzo responded, looking at the floor.

“Right,” Jesse coughed and retracted his hand, “so uh, I’m… sorry for interrupting your bathroom trip. I won’t laugh while you’re trying to pee, but I need to sit this one out. Han, I’m literally on fire right now. That’s how fuckin’ blazed I am.”

Hanzo snorted. “Yeah, no, I can get out of your way too. I’m not exactly sober myself.”

“Really?” Jesse sniffed him. “You do a good job at covering it up.”

Hanzo shook his head and unzipped his jacket before revealing a small flask he was carrying in the pocket. “Helps me deal with this class. This break was actually a drinking break as well.” He unscrewed the top and took a long swig, gulping the harsh liquid. He sighed in pleasure as he felt the warmth travel to his stomach. He held out some to Jesse. “Want some?”

The cowboy closed his eyes and shook his head. “Like I said, I’m sitting this one out. But you have fun being drunk in… what class?”

“Chemistry. The kids are all obnoxious and the teacher kinda gave up on us so all we do is other work or just talk.”

“Any friends in that class?”

“Well,” Hanzo sighed, “Amelie was, before she left for France. We’d actually both be drinking before that class and have drunk conversations. A lot of the kids know about it, but, I mean,” he took another swig, “snitches get stitches.”

Even if he was high, Jesse knew something was up with Hanzo. He was drinking mid-conversation, which meant he was trying to get rid of  _ some  _ burden inside of him. He didn’t dare question him about it though. The boy was happily drunk and unexpectedly talking to him in the bathroom. Jesse didn’t want to screw this up.

“So if your teacher doesn’t care about what y’all do, you really think she’d notice if you went missing for the rest of the class and sat here to talk with me?”

That must have been the slickest thing he had ever said in his life.

Hanzo did a drunk smile, eyes turning into a squint as he flared his pearly whites. “I would love nothing more. I need a distraction.”

Jesse’s observations had been correct.

_ xx _

_ Sombra: so do one of you guys wanna tell me what this is _

_ Sombra: (attachment: 1 video) _

_ Sombra: gabe, we’re here if you need to talk. _

_ Doom: She’s right. We’re here. _

_ Sombra: the messages arent even delivering to his phone. I hope hes okay. _

_ Lone Wolf: im sure he is. He beat the shit out of someone nearly twice his size. _

_ Sombra: if he doesnt come to school tomorrow, we’re looking for him. _

_ xx _


	5. Double A, F*ckin' A

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't drink anymore.

_xx_

In Jamison’s corroded trailer, Gabriel lay on the couch sleeping the intoxication off. Any more downed, and he would have gotten alcohol poisoning. Jamison stared at him as he ate a bowl of cereal. This was just perfect.

On the TV was some forgettable sitcom, the best they had on their cable. This whole trailer park was pure trash. Jamison glanced outside of the window and saw the neighbors lighting up a fire before the season would go to shit again. Winter was basically a month away because Mother Nature didn’t know what she wanted anymore. The light from the fire glowed onto their shitty, rusty trailer. He couldn’t really speak. His was far worse.

On the floor there were countless stains and discolored pieces of carpet that he didn’t know half the stories of. This was mostly because he was part of those stories, too intoxicated or high to remember. Random dishes, cups, and pieces of garbage coated every surface that wasn’t frequently touched. The wallpapers were torn all over and stained just as badly as the carpets. Jamison’s father had poorly tried covering said tears with lewd posters or calendars. There were a few neon signs for beer made the darkness more bearable, and colorful lights were hung up recently from Jamison’s drunken desire to be in the Christmas spirit early this year.

It was all home to him, no matter how fucked up.

It was from good ‘ol Nowheretown, USA.

He wanted to take it back there one day.

There was a knock at the door, and Jamison got up immediately. He was expecting Mako to drop by sometime that night to help deal with Gabe. They were concerned about him.

“Honestly, I’m not surprised he’s done this,” he grunted, once he witnessed the boy passed out on the couch. Jamison crossed his arms and sighed.

“As much as I encourage violent behavior, he’s gotten out of hand with his drinkin’. His breath reeked of alcohol when I yanked him off that gloat.”

“Just like his dad. Fuckin’ Jorge,” Mako said, annoyed. “I think I may know something he needs to hear.”

Jamison looked at him. “Do ya?”

“I may have seen his dad at the Spot last night, when I was on a run with my brothers.”

“Jesus, the fuckin’ _Spot_?”

“Some big shit he’s gettin’ himself into.”

“Mate,” Jamison turned towards him, “you never go on runs.”

“Not those runs, ya dope.” Mako flicked his forehead. “Have you forgotten my family is in a gang?”

“I was makin’ a _funny_.” Jamison stuck his tongue out at him.

They stared at each other for a solid minute before Jamison slowly reached in his pocket and pulled out a baggie. It was the finest grass in the whole trailer park.

While still maintaining eye contact, Mako slowly pulled out a pipe and lighter.

They took no hesitation in leaving the trailer to smoke, giggling the entire way out.

_xx_

Jesse and Hanzo had been texting wildly that night, with Hanzo being insanely drunk and spilling some truths about his life. Jesse didn’t mind it one bit. He was glad Hanzo came to him when he got drunk, he felt special. A blush was on his face the entire time.

_Hanzo: did you know that when i was like 8 i was almost put in the system_

_Jesse: Like… the foster care system?_

_Hanzo: yes_

_Hanzo: My dad had a huge alcoholism problem and it got so bad that he didn’t come home for like an entire week, so it was just my brother and i_

_Jesse: You have a brother?_

_Hanzo: had_

_Jesse: Jesus, i’m sorry to hear that_

_Hanzo: anyways, yeah i almost had to talk my way out of a child services visit once too. They were hot on our asses already and he still wasn’t home. I was 10. If it hadn’t been for genji bringing a baseball bat to their car while dressed up as an oni, i wouldve been screwed_

_Jesse: an oni huh?_

_Hanzo: he was only 7. I didn’t think random violence would come in so handy. So after that i kind of got into it myself. We were unstoppable._

_Jesse: Got any more tales to tell?_

_Hanzo: so many_

_Hanzo: if only you were here, i’d tell you so many of genij and i’s adventures_

_Jesse: It’s not even 10, I could totally walk over there if you wanted me to_

He wasn’t going to _not_ take advantage, right?

_Hanzo: i’ll totally meet you halfway_

_Jesse: Sounds like a deal._

Their friendship had skyrocketed ever since their last meeting with Society. They found themselves texting more often, and a smile was on Jesse’s face each time his phone lit up with a text from his crush. His newfound confident move made him feel proud for once. He didn’t know he had it in him.

_xx_

Gabe was still passed out on the couch, his liver practically screaming at the amount of alcohol that had been thrown at it. He had outdone himself.

“A bottle and a half of Fireball, can you believe it? All to himself,” Jamison had said to Mako as they sat on the trailer roof, gazing up at the stars.

“Sounds like something he’d do. Just didn’t think he’d be doing it this way.”

“In what way, mate?”

“Like, I expected him to do it at a party or some other exciting event, but instead he’s drinking because of this sudden stress. What has him so fucked up to that point?” Mako commented.

“Beyond me. We’ll have a chat with ‘im when he wakes up.”

Two bowls had done them good. The sounds of the stereotypical banjo from their hillbilly neighbors was a huge problem. Jamison snickered once he realized they had a radio up there for this exact occasion. He turned on some really loud metal and put the volume on max. Both him and Mako started headbanging and flipped off their neighbors.

“You sons of bitches!” the man next door shouted, before throwing his banjo to the ground and getting out _his_ radio, and blaring an even more brutal band. The boys looked at each other before grinning.

“Oi!” Jamison called, turning off his radio and jumping up. He started playing air guitar with the song and jumping around. The nieghbors did so with him. Mako looked at them and realized they were just as fucked as them off their moonshine.

Inside the trailer, Gabriel had been woken up with a pounding headache. It didn’t help that there was loud music blaring and what sounded like total anarchy outside. He rolled off the couch and groaned. Where was he?

Opening up his bloodshot and baggy eyes, he analyzed his surroundings. A shitty, garbage-filled floor, a television that still had goddamned _antennas_ , and the next thing he laid eyes on was proof he was in Jamison’s trailer.

A box of the off-brand _Cookie Crisp_ cereal.

He sighed heavily. The loud sounds all around him were killing his poor head. He had to put a stop to this. Stumbling to his feet, he headed towards the door and leaned against it as he opened it. It busted open and he nearly tripped out. He looked over at the neighbors, then heard Jamison’s voice singing above him.

“HEY!” Gabriel screamed. His throat started to set on fire, and he coughed wildly. Jamison and the neighbors obviously hadn’t heard him. He couldn’t scream again. He didn’t even want to _be_ here.

“Fuck it,” he whispered. “I’m out.”

He shut the door behind himself and struggled to get down the stairs. As drunk as he was, he needed to get out of here. His mind suddenly went into a fight-or-flight mode, and he gained the adrenaline to hurry out of the trailer park.

Dehydrated, drunk, and worried about his sister, he headed home.

_xx_

Jesse and Hanzo had decided to go back to the latter’s place, simply because his parents weren’t home due to work. It’s why he was drunk in the first place.

“I have a lot of more stories to tell you, Jesse,” Hanzo said as they walked down the empty street. They were in the nicer part of town, where cars never roamed the streets past 9 PM. The people that lived around here were post-war couples who just wanted to settle down after all the excitement during their youth. Jesse wondered if he’d ever live like they have.

“Do tell,” Jesse said as they crossed a street.

“First,” Hanzo started, raising a finger, “I have to explain something.”

His friend raised a brow.

“YOU!”

_xx_

Gabriel made it to some of the fancier neighborhoods in town, almost home. Thoughts of his sister ran through his head. He was mostly mad at himself for leaving her alone and getting drunk instead. What was he thinking?

By now, he had slightly sobered up and spilled the contents of his stomach all over someone’s front lawn, but he felt better after doing so. His gagging echoed all throughout the neighborhood, and the sloppy wet sounds of his puke colliding with muddy grass only made it sound more gross. He apologized to the lawn gnome that was covered in his bile and knocked over on the ground. When he saw the lights to the house in front of him turn on, he ran around a corner and watched as a lady ran out to see what had happened.

“My gnome!” she screamed, before looking around frantically as to who the culprit of this wrongdoing was. He sighed. Now he had fucked up another person’s day. But it didn’t matter, she’d never find him. He walked away as quickly and quietly as he could.

His heart nearly stopped when he heard what she screamed next.

“YOU!”

Whipping around and ready to fight, Gabriel saw nobody. He blinked, wondering if it was voices in his head, and maybe he had finally gone crazy. But upon further inspection, she was screaming at someone else. He watched from behind a tree as the lady approached two people walking. One of them had a cowboy hat on, and he sighed in disbelief. It was fucking Jesse and Hanzo.

“Well, good evening to you too,” Hanzo commented as she stood angrily in front of them.

“Which one of you fuckers puked over my fucking gnome?!”

They both gave each other a confused look, before she pointed to the soiled gnome on her lawn. Hanzo had to cover his mouth from laughing, but a giggle still came out, infuriating the woman more. Jesse cringed.

“Thankfully, that was not us, ma’am,” he stated.

“This one here’s drunk! I can tell by the way he was walking! Makes sense considering there’s puke all over my lawn!”

“W-we didn’t do something as savage as that,” Hanzo blurted out, before busting out laughing. This only made the woman more angry. “But I can do it for you, if you like-”

Jesse put a hand over his friend’s mouth and put an arm around him, ushering him to walk away. “We’re… just gonna go now. Sorry, we don’t know who puked on your lawn.”

“I’m calling the fucking cops! What are your names!”

“Shit, we gotta go,” Jesse said, before urging his crush to run with him. They started sprinting down the sidewalk, with Hanzo nearly tripping a few times.

“I SAID WHAT ARE YOUR NAMES!”

“You stupid BITCH!” Gabriel suddenly shouted, before running up to her and pushing her down to the ground, right in the pile of puke. “IT WAS ME! _I_ FUCKING PUKED ALL OVER YOUR STUPID GNOME! YOU EVER YELL AT THEM LIKE THAT AGAIN I’LL _KILL_ YOU!”

“Jesus Christ, is that who I _think_ it is?!” Hanzo suddenly shouted, stopping dead in his tracks. He turned around to see Gabriel running the opposite way, while the dumbfounded lady sat still in the pile of puke, too shocked to move.

“No way,” Jesse gasped as he watched the boy run. “He’s supposed to be at Jamison’s.”

“Not anymore. You _go_ , you crazy little fucker!” Hanzo cheered drunkenly, waving his fist in the air. It wasn’t Jesse’s place to be upset that Gabriel wasn’t at Jamison’s. He just hoped wherever he went next, he was safe. No doubt he was still drunk. That was the second time in the same day where Gabriel has either nearly killed someone, or threatened to kill them.

Whatever he was stressed about, it was fucking with him _big_ time.

Reaching his front steps for the first time in what seemed like forever, Gabriel sighed and took a minute to regain his composure. His head was still spinning, and the whole world didn’t seem right for just a moment because he was stuck in his fight-or-flight instinct. The alcohol had gotten to his head, and he realized he had consumed past his limit. Never again.

He threw up in the bushes once more before spitting on the ground and heading inside. The lights were off, the house was eerie. He could see a shed of light coming from Bella’s room. He crept towards the door and peeked his head inside. She was watching kid videos on the tablet their father actually scrounged up the money for. It was shitty, and took a good few seconds to even type letters, but it was the thought that counted before everything got fucked up again. He was happy she wasn’t in danger, and let her be. His room was right down the hall, and he stumbled to it, mind set on his bed where he could lay still for just a moment. The dizziness was starting to kick in.

Gabriel slumped on his bed, the only source of light in his room being the open window, where moonlight had made its way in and highlighted his bed and floor. It was a pretty messy room, which is why he assumed he could relate to Jamison so much. There were clothes and hangers on the floor, random wrappers that had missed the garbage, crumpled up receipts from the local 7/11, and a black beanbag chair in the corner. It was huge, and nearly took up the whole quarter of the room. Sitting next to it was a bong, sploof ( _a paper towel or toilet paper tube stuffed with dryer sheets to mask the smell of weed_ _when blown into_ ), his laptop, and a pair of headphones. Stereotypical teenager setup. He was a living 2008 flashback, with his emo hair and skull shirts.

He fell into a deep sleep, not even dreaming. For now, everything was fine. But in the back of his mind, he was still worried sick.

_xx_

During the walk back to Hanzo’s place after that disaster had occurred, Jesse took the time to inform the group that Gabe was on the loose again. He had a drunk Hanzo to take care of, and he was sure that Gabe could take care of himself given what he had done twice today.

Now, they were currently sitting in Hanzo’s room, listening to music and talking about Hanzo’s many adventures with Genji.

His room was a nice tan color. On the walls, there were various band posters or novelties from Japan, including a bright green katana sitting right above his window. Hanzo had a really large bed, too, so there was more than enough room for both of them to sit on. It had about ten blankets and twice as many pillows, but it was comfy as _hell_. Along with all the decorations and overly comfy bed, Hanzo had a thing for collecting stuff. Anything, really. His shelves were filled with things from various experiences: concert tickets, rocks, bobbleheads, figurines, snowglobes, the whole package. Jesse wondered what things he had at home that were similar to any of that.

One thing that stuck out was a framed picture of Hanzo and who Jesse assumed was his brother.

“When he was like 8, after that incident with child services,” Hanzo began, “he gained an obsession with the _Scream_ series, you know, that creepy ghost dude?”

Jesse laughed. “I’m all too familiar.”

“So he bought another costume- Genji was really big into costumes by the way- and he ran around school terrorizing all of our bullies. He got in huge trouble for it, but they never messed with us again. You know what he did? He l-locked them in the bathroom and threatened them with a katana, all while wearing this ridiculous getup. The bullies didn’t take him seriously, so he threw it straight at them and it landed stiff in the wall between them, inches away. I was there. It was so cool, Jesse.”

Hanzo had gotten lost in thought and rambled for a good hour about his adventures. Each minute that passed, Jesse got more lit from the edible Hanzo had given him as a surprise. The shorter boy claimed he was already “too turnt” and needed to get rid of the supply before his father came home.

Jesse knew it was an excuse to give it to him.

Each minute that passed, Hanzo talking about his memories and passions made him all the more attractive.

Shit.

Jesse was beginning to fall for him.

Like, big time.

“Did I ever tell you how I lost him?”

This snapped Jesse out of his thoughts that had suddenly caught up to him. He looked over at his crush, whose eyes were glued to the ceiling.

“No, you didn’t,” he responded quietly. Hanzo sat up quietly and crossed his legs before reaching over to the end table and grabbing his mixed drink. He took a large gulp before setting it back down. He blinked a few times as the alcohol took an impact.

“Right. So, it started off when my parents were starting to have problems. My dad was being selfish with his business and becoming a growing alcoholic, and my mom wanted to move back to Japan to be with my grandma for the few years she had left. She didn’t like the way America worked, always complaining about the government fucking us all over and that big corporations nearly put my dad’s company out of business countless times. My father didn’t take it as a warning, but an _insult_ instead. They argued for months and months while he became more and more of a drunk. ‘You wanna move back to fucking Japan? Then go be with your old bitch of a mother’. I still remember him screaming that in the middle of the night to her in our front yard, when her bags were packed and she had a cab waiting for her. She left us. And I _saw_ her look at me in the window before getting in the car. I’m convinced that wasn’t even her reason for leaving. She was married to an alcoholic. But she left us with him and that’s what hurt.

“Genji wasn’t even home that night. He was at a friend’s sleepover. When he came home the next day, my father lied to him. He lied and said that she had died. Not left. No, she was _dead_. And Genji didn’t know what to do. His mother was gone. Dead. And… I guess he took that as a sign of ‘I should be dead too’. So, he jumped out of the window. And the police came that same day after my dad had a near drunken heart attack when he found out his son was laid out all over the fucking grass.

“I was 14. I was young, reckless, and wanted to get out and _do_ shit. So when I found out my brother had randomly killed himself with no explanation, I left. I packed my shit and left, too. I didn’t find out _why_ he did it until a year later after digging up the real police report. My father had covered it all up. I don’t know how he managed to do it, but he fucking covered it all up.”

There were so many questions running through Jesse’s head as he let this process. Hanzo had dumped this _atomic bomb_ of a story on top of him. He was speechless, what _could_ he say? There wasn’t room for apologies. The damage was already done.

“Jesus,” Jesse said quietly. “I… that’s…”

“My life is a _trainwreck_ , Jesse. It’s why I drink. And smoke.”

Jamison had mentioned Hanzo’s past was shady. Was he talking about when he left just a few years back?

The look on Hanzo’s face revealed that he was upset just thinking about everything. Jesse still didn’t know what to say about the matter. So instead, he leaned over to Hanzo and hugged him. The shorter boy was speechless at this sudden display of affection. He slowly wrapped his arms back around Jesse and they stayed like that for a while. He thought Jesse smelled like everything good, and he let out a sigh of pleasure before inhaling his scent in again.

The cowboy hugged him tighter, finally finding words to say. “You’re doin’ just fine without her. You’re the leader of Society, that’s a better accomplishment than anything I’ve ever gotten.”

Hanzo snorted at the compliment. “Please, to everyone else in the school that doesn’t know about us, we’d just be some punk rebel kids who TP’d the gym.”

“I’m still so glad he cancelled that stupid assembly,” Jesse said before letting Hanzo go. However, he was still looking at him.

It was quiet, and all he really wanted to do was lean in and kiss him. They were both fucked out of their minds from their intoxicants, and to Jesse, at least, that was a perfect excuse to start making out.

He wasn’t the only one with that same idea. Before he could even attempt to make a move on Hanzo, he was suddenly greeted by an arm pulling him closer, and soon, on top of him. Their faces were now inches apart, and Jesse could feel Hanzo holding him tight.

“Please kiss me,” he whispered.

“As you wish,” Jesse said, before pressing his lips against Hanzo’s.


	6. And Then There Were Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything just might be slowly falling into place.

_ xx _

Around 4 in the morning, Gabe had woken up to vomit again. He fell out of bed, which only made his nausea worse and he nearly spilled it then and there. But he held it in and hurried to the bathroom, nearly tripping over random things on the floor. Drunken Gabe was a clumsy Gabe.

Throughout the house, one could hear him puking his guts out. He shuddered when he noticed his vomit was near black. How did he not die of alcohol poisoning?

“Jesus Christ,” he said, before puking even more. Never again would he drink that much. On the sink counter, his phone buzzed. He looked up, confused, wondering how in the world his phone had gotten there.  _ Must have been a hell of a night.  _ Now who was texting him at 4 in the morning?

_ Jamie: Mate are you safe? _

_ Jamie: Jesse said he saw you flip out and run down the street or somethin _

_ Jamie: Message me or Mako back pleeeeease. We’re worried _

There were other messages in his inbox too.

_ Vaquero: So i just saw gabe go apeshit on this woman outside and he ran off, but i thought i should let yall know since hes supposed to be at jamisons or something _

_ Sombra: if he doesnt respond by tomorrow we’re going on a search for him _

_ Doom: He should be fine. But that doesn’t mean we’re not worried. _

_ Vaquero: I figured. I kind of have my own issue to deal with at the moment so i cant really run after him. Otherwise i wouldve. _

_ Sombra: We know, jesse (winky face) _

Gabe rolled his eyes and set his phone on the floor before leaning against the wall, head spinning once again. His brain felt like it was pounding against his skull, begging to be let out and to be somewhere far better than the toxic bath it had nearly drowned in. He shut his eyes and sat there for what seemed like forever.

There were footsteps that came up to the bathroom door. Gabe recognized them as Bella’s. A small knock came soon after they had stopped.

“Yeah,” Gabe groaned.

“You okay? Eat something bad?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he groaned again. “I’m… I’m fine, Bella. Go back to sleep.”

“People from the school called today. They sounded upset. But I deleted the voicemail for you.”

A wave of relief washed over him, silently thanking her for what she had done. This was why he protected her, because she was just as protective, especially for a 12 year old. They had each others’ backs, because it’s something their father had failed to do.

A few moments had passed before she walked back to her room, the door soon shutting behind her. Gabe got up slowly and flushed the toilet. He caught his face in the mirror and his eyes widened. He looked like complete  _ shit _ . His eyes were droopy and dark, and there was dried vomit all over his shirt and mouth. His hair was really messy and it looked like he had just gotten the best fuck of his life.

“Fuck,” he whispered, before peeling his clothes off and turning on the shower.

_ xx _

Jesse had fallen asleep with Hanzo that night, his face glued into the shorter boy’s chest. He inhaled the scent of his shirt. It was unlike anything he had ever smelled, a mixture of fresh laundry detergent and the cologne he had chosen to wear that day.

Once his eyes finally opened, he noticed Hanzo was still asleep. There was light from outside pouring in the room. Birds chirped outside, celebrating their final moments in town before they migrated south for the winter. A slightly cool breeze blew in from the window, and the scent of outside brought a serene feeling over Jesse. Here he was, cuddling with his crush in the morning, and for once, everything was alright in the world.

He couldn’t remember the last time he woke up somewhere else other than his bed.

He didn’t dare move, the moment too good to cherish. It had been too long since he was cuddled.

The last relationship he had was the one that made Jesse realize he was gay. It was odd to accept at first, but after a while it made sense. He had found himself staring just a tad too long at the hot guys in the locker room, and with any girls that liked him, he mistook their flirting for being overly friendly. He had a few crushes on other guys at school since then, but Hanzo truly took the cake on this one.

How couldn’t he like him? Hanzo had been nothing but nice to him since they first met, even if he did come off as secluded. Jesse wondered if he had always been like that.

Hanzo stirred in his sleep and pulled Jesse closer, large arms tightening. It truly did feel like a dream.

A whole hour of Jesse being awake and not moving a single muscle later, Hanzo’s alarm had gone off for the morning. At first, he didn’t respond to it, still dead asleep. It made sense, considering he was drunk last night. Jesse waited a little longer to see if he could manage waking up, but no response.

“Han,” Jesse patted his back softly. “We gotta go to school.”

“Hm,” he grunted. So he  _ had _ been awake. “Five more minutes.”

A blush spread across Jesse’s cheeks, and he smiled, hugging Hanzo tighter.

“How about we skip today and just be like this,” Hanzo mumbled.

“As much as I’d like that, I don’t want another police officer showing up to my house because I missed two weeks’ worth of school.”

“My uncle’s a cop,” Hanzo commented.

“He’s the cop that showed up to my house,” Jesse explained.

“Small world.”

They laid like that for five more minutes, and after the alarm had started beeping again, Hanzo hit snooze. Five more minutes, and he shut the clock off, the red glowing letters suddenly fading from the screen.

“Hanzo, we really should-”

“Jesse. I have not had a peace quite like this in a long time. Please enjoy it with me.”

Jesse sighed, his heart wanting to do the same thing, but his brain knew he should really get going to school.

For once, he said fuck it.

_ xx _

Gabriel had stayed home from school that day, too. He couldn’t go back there after what he did to that boy. He couldn’t even show his face to the town. Not after what he found.

It was just a few days prior when their father had left for work. Gabriel knew something had been up with him. He was coming home less and less, and when he did, it was around 3 in the morning and for no more than half an hour. Gabe had started staying up and watched what he did when he came home. A majority of that time was spent in his room, which made him skeptical.

He had opened the door and went through his things, making sure not to leave a thing out of place. Upon opening his dad’s closet door, he witnessed a huge safe with a  _ fat _ padlock. It took Gabriel 3 hours to find the fucking key, but he was determined. This man had pulled shit in the past, so he felt he had every right to be concerned.

A notebook, filled with contacts and notes about clients. And next to it, several baggies filled to the brim with all sorts of illegal substances: cocaine, weed, pills, meth, heroin,  _ everything _ . There was so much of it.

Going through the notebook, he saw several names representing a lot of the local gangs that liked to cause serious trouble. And that was when he realized he couldn’t live here anymore. These people were known for torture. He had to get out of here and take his sister with him and go back to California and never look back.

His sister decided to stay home as well, taking advantage of the fact that their father hadn’t come home the previous night. She wasn’t really concerned about him too much, knowing her brother had her back more than him. Gabriel had embedded it in her mind at a young age that he was no good for them. He had done things behind the curtains that crossed the line, many times.

When the afternoon hit, he deemed it safe to come out of his room and check for any signs of their father. The living room had a still feeling to it, like it hadn’t been touched all day. Clear.

“Bella,” Gabe said, knocking on her door. It wasn’t safe here anymore, and Jorge had yet to return. He left them alone, and Gabe wasn’t about to sit by and have gangsters raid their house again searching for him. All of his friends would call him paranoid, but from witnessing firsthand just what he’s possibly capable of, Gabriel knew what he was doing.

Bella opened her door and looked up at him, who had a heavy backpack slung over his shoulder. She gave him a worried look. “He hasn’t been home in almost two days.”

“He left us, Bella. Come on, pack your things. We have to leave.”

“But what about school and-”

“We’re going back to Cali. I got us two bus tickets already,” Gabriel explained, bending down and showing her them on his phone. Her eyes widened.

“Really? We’re going back home? But who will stay with us?”

“ _ Abuela _ ’s gonna have to take us in. Now please, pack your things and we can go.”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. A hard knock. Gabriel turned to see two figures standing outside, waiting to be let in. They were both wearing black, from what he could see from behind the thick curtains.

“Stay inside your room, and do  _ not  _ come out,” he told her, before pushing her inside and closing the door. He quickly ran around a corner and dug in his backpack, pulling out a glock. He made sure it was loaded before listening for anyone.

There was another knock on the door, this time, even harder. It sounded like the police. Gabriel peeked around the corner and now saw  _ four _ figures waiting outside. His heart started pounding even faster. He didn’t know if he could take on four cops at once. He couldn’t be put in the system. Not again.

Jamison’s voice rang through his head.  _ You’re makin’ a real mistake here if you think I’m gonna let you kill someone again _ . This only made his grip on the gun grow even tighter, finger slowly creeping towards the trigger. Another knock, and then the doorknob turning.

“Gabe-”

A gunshot rang throughout the house, and then silence.

_ xx _

Hanzo and Jesse had stayed home that day as well, the cowboy giving in to the demands of his crush. All he wanted was to snuggle, and Jesse was more than happy to comply. He could hear Hanzo’s father downstairs walking around every now and then. But for the most part, he stayed in what the boy assumed was his office. Truthfully, he felt sneaky that he was up here with his son without him knowing. 

Hanzo had finally decided to at least be awake and lay there in bed with Jesse.

“How long have you liked me?” he suddenly mustered up the courage to say.

“Well,” Jesse started, smiling to himself. “Ever since I laid eyes on ya.”

That earned a chuckle from Hanzo. “For me, it was when you proved yourself to us on your first night. That was pretty badass.”

“I  _ really _ like you, Han. Like, I have the biggest crush ever on ya. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to share a moment like this with someone.”

Hanzo planted a kiss on Jesse’s forehead. “I would love to share more of these moments with you. So will you do the honor of being mine?”

It was the question that made his whole face light up. The sheer happiness of being asked those special words made Jesse’s entire day. Week. Month.  _ Year _ . For once, luck had finally been on his side.

But even before he could open his mouth to answer, he heard footsteps approaching to Hanzo’s door. And instead of hearing a knock, the whole door opened. His father stood there, eyes wider than plates, at the sight of his son cuddling with another man, alcohol bottles sitting on the shelves, and a pack of cigarettes that were right on the nightstand.

“What in the  _ hell _ is going on here?!” he demanded. “Who is this?!”

“Shit.” Jesse and Hanzo quickly sat up and prepared to face the wrath of the angry father.

“Would it kill you to  _ knock _ ?!” Hanzo demanded, throwing the covers off of him and getting up.

“You’re telling  _ me  _ this, after I see what  _ you _ have been doing?!”

The shouting match commenced, both of them waving around their arms and hands frantically, much like father and son. Jesse couldn’t keep up with the aggressive yelling in Japanese, it all sounded the same to him with how fast and precise they were speaking.

Apparently his father had said something to piss Hanzo off  _ big  _ time, because before even  _ he _ knew it, he was lunging towards him. The older Shimada lost no ground as he swiftly stepped to the side and watched his son trip and fall out into the hallway.

He looked at Jesse, before looking back at Hanzo. “And tell your  _ lover _ that he is no longer welcome here.” Calmly, he walked out of the room and stepped over his son to get to the stairs.

Hanzo was on the floor, livid rage seething through him. His knuckles were white, and he could feel a sudden sensation take over, like a dragon roaring through his system screaming to be let out. Jesse was quickly at his side, asking if he was okay. But all Hanzo could hear was white noise.

He was sick of this. Every time he and his father had some sort of confrontation, he’d bring up the past about Hanzo’s mother. Every single  _ fucking  _ time, he kept lying and blamed him in some sort of way, not even  _ considering _ the death that happened in the process. Was there no respect?

He sat up slowly, glaring at his father as he went down the steps, each one a growing reminder of how much Hanzo wanted to push him down. Jesse cupped his cheek and guided his boyfriend’s head to face him.

“Hey,” he whispered. “It’s gonna be okay.” 

Once again, Jesse kissed him. It wasn’t just a peck on the lips. It was a full blown, deep, never-let-me-go type kiss. One that Jesse had wanted to give him for so long. He could feel the tension in Hanzo’s whole body seem to release.

When they parted, Hanzo looked at the ground in shame.

“He told me that I was the reason she left. He keeps lying, and lying, and lying.”

“Shh, shh,” Jesse cooed, bringing him into a hug. “Let’s get out of here.”

Hanzo hugged him back, agreeing nothing sounded better than that.

_ xx _

Sombra stood there, paralyzed at the sight of her friend aiming a gun straight at her. Behind her, a bullet hole was in the door, inches away from her temple. Akande, Jamison, and Mako stood there, too shocked to speak.

Gabriel’s eyes were wide, the gun shaking from the adrenaline running through his veins. He completely forgot about the messages he saw last night about their search party.

“Jesus Christ, Sombra, I’m-”

“What the  _ fuck _ is your  _ problem _ ?!  _ Who _ is after you to the point where you try and hold up your own  _ house _ ?! You leave for a whole day and get drunk and worry the fuck out of not only  _ us _ , but your  _ hermana  _ too?!” The girl started shouting at him in Spanish, scared half to death for him. He slowly lowered the gun and took the lecture, heart still racing from what had just happened.

“Gabriel,” Jamison calmly said once the girl was done and sobbing. “You need to tell us what the fuck is going on.”

He sighed, and gestured for them to sit down as he dropped the gun. It made a loud  _ thump _ as it hit the dirty carpet. Jamison slowly creeped towards him and picked up the gun, all while looking Gabriel in the eyes.

“Nobody’s comin’ after ya, mate. I’ll make sure of it,” he said as he slowly backed away, stuffing the gun in his boot. Gabriel didn’t move or try to stop him. He knew his friends had him outnumbered. At this point, an explanation was his only chance at getting out of here.

He took a seat in his father’s recliner, feeling it sink under his weight. “You need to all listen to me  _ very _ carefully,” he warned, pointing a finger to all of them. He could still hear Sombra sniffling from the near heart-attack-inducing event. “I am  _ not _ going to repeat this shit again, because they’re fucking  _ watching _ .”

The safe had given Gabriel important information. There were special dates in that notebook, one of them being just two days ago. From what the description said, it looked like his father was making a delivery all the way in a different state. And with how many drugs that were in here alone, Gabriel knew that his father was getting into something he wasn’t going to get out of.

He had taken an association with one of the most brutal gangs in the whole city.  _ Los Condenados _ , which directly translated to The Convicted. Their name made a whole lot of sense once someone knew what they did in the past.

The gang was mostly notorious for hard drug smuggling. Many police officers that were even remotely close to cracking their case were put in the dirt. Because of this, the whole PD decided to keep them a secret from the public to prevent a mass panic. Luckily for them, The Convicted only worked in the shadows and didn’t bother to kill innocents. But that didn’t mean people showed up dead every week.

They’d kill their associates for any reason, really. Working in the shadows meant they were paranoid. Any  _ hint _ of suspicion from a job gone wrong and someone had to die. One had only a day or two before hitmen would locate them and bring them down.

The job, according to the notebook, was only supposed to take one night.

It was safe to assume their father was dead, or in hiding.

He was convinced he only had a certain amount of time before hitmen would be coming to the house.

Halfway during his explanation, Bella had come out of her room and quietly sulked in the corner. She knew there was no danger with the other voices she heard. His friends had come over a handful of times, mostly to smoke or drink while their father was out for the night. Seeing a familiar face was somewhat reassuring to her. She didn’t really take lightly to suddenly getting told to pack her things one morning. And she didn’t show it, but fear had coursed through her whole body when Gabe told her to keep the door closed.

Jamison thought the story was odd, but then Gabriel led them to his father’s room. There sat the safe, open for all to see, including his sister. He figured she deserved to know what he’s been up to instead of taking care of them.

“So he’s really runnin’ drugs again then?” Jamison asked, picking up a baggie of pure crystal meth, and feeling its weight in his hand. He glanced over at his best friend, who was also investigating the safe. He was the only one who really had any gang experience.

“Remember when I told you,” Mako started, “that there was a lot more gang activity in this area?”

Jamison nodded.

“This is exactly the shit I was talking about. May I see that book?”

Reluctantly, Gabriel nodded and showed him its contents. Mako’s eyes darted across the pages like a frenzied feline. Each second that passed, he furrowed his brows more, before sighing.

“I’ve only seen a handful of these types of jobs getting handed out. Your father isn’t exactly an expert in that type of stuff, is he?”

Gabriel shook his head while looking at the ground. Anyone who looked in his eyes could read just how worried he was. Quietly, Mako gestured for him to follow into the hallway.

When the door closed, Mako looked Gabriel straight in the eyes. “I don’t know what to tell you, Gabe,” he whispered as quietly as he could. “My father barely came back alive from shit like that, and he’s been in this business for  _ 30 years _ .”

Gabriel looked at the ground, hands in his pockets. He didn’t know what to say. Mako was basically telling him that he was gone, most likely for good.

“My question is this,” Mako said, folding his arms. “What’s your next move?”

Still staring at the ground, Gabriel sighed. He shrugged once, arms draping at his sides in defeat. “I want to go back to Cali and live with family. It’s better over there.”

“Assuming your father didn’t rat your family out,” Mako started. “That gang negotiates differently. Some people will trade their family members’ lives for their own. Meaning, if you fuck up, you can have them kill your aunt, or your brother.”

“And where did you hear this?” Gabriel demanded.

“My family? Duh.”

Once again, Gabriel sighed. “I suppose. He does seem like enough of a dick to rat us out.”

So Gabriel decided not to leave for Cali, as much as he wanted to.

“You obviously can’t and don’t want to stay here,” Mako grunted. “Where will you go? Do you need somewhere to stay?”

“I don’t want to get your guys involved in this. I’ll probably ask someone else. But I guarantee… I have it under control.”

“I wish you the best of luck Gabe. Please, watch out for the system. They’re your sister’s worst nightmare.”

Gabriel shook Mako’s hand firmly, as if to bid goodbye to him. He went back in his father’s room and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Then, he turned towards his sister and gestured for her to follow. Sombra reached out a hand to stop him, but Mako shook his head and slowly lowered it. She gave him a confused look.

“He needs time. I’ve seen what he’s capable of. He’ll make it.”

They watched him leave out the door, bags packed. A taxi stopped in front of the house, the driver casually smoking a cigarette and texting on his phone. As Gabriel walked with Bella down the sidewalk, a warm breeze blew. Jamison thought it was dramatic as fuck.

“I’m still keeping a radar on him either way,” Sombra commented, looking at her nails. “These days, everyone is watching.”

They weren’t used to this. Two people were gone, with one of them in potential danger. And everyone knew Jesse and Hanzo were off doing their own thing. Hanzo had spilled all the beans about Jesse just a day ago, so in reality, it was just them now.

“Who’s up for B-Dubs?” Jamison asked once the taxi drove off. Everyone glared at him, but they secretly wanted food too.

“How can you suggest something like that after what just happened?” Akande asked, but his decision changed immediately after hearing his stomach growl loudly.

“There’s a dragon in there, yeah?”

_ xx _


End file.
